
BEST PRACTICE REPRESENTATIVE 2019
THE PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW
Highlighting best practice
18 | STEADFAST ROOFING
Managing Director
ColinRidgway
The Steadfast team
Steadfast Roofing were established with the vision of
becoming a roofing contractor to the major housebuilders,
servicing both north London and the surrounding counties.
Just over three decades later, their group sales are now in
excess of £21 million and they have opened another office
in Colchester while expanding into Oxfordshire. By studying
core business data, and ensuring close relationships with their
customers, they have been able to expand significantly. Managing
Director Colin Ridgway explains how this expansion was
achieved and the need to solve the nationwide housingshortage.
Our company was founded in 1983 in the living room of a semi-detached house on
the High Street of Clapham, a village on the outskirts of Bedford. Our vision was to
offer a complete supply-and-fix roofing service to the major housebuilders in north
London and the home counties.
We were educated to secondary school standard, but our business acumen was
made up of ambition, enthusiasm and brawn. It became apparent after learning
some hard life lessons that the business needed a more professional structure. We
achieved this by gaining a BSI quality assurance accreditation: we were one of the
first roofing contractors in the UK to do so.
Armed with an organised development programme, our reputation began to grow
and through our newly gained expertise, we were able to establish the business.
We enhanced our management and estimating structure by employing and training
proficient staff, and in 1995 we moved to our current premises in Sharnbrook,
Bedfordshire, consolidating the business with sales in excess of £10 million.
FACTS ABOUT
STEADFAST ROOFING
»Managing Director:
ColinRidgway
»Established in 1983
»Based in Sharnbrook,
Bedfordshire
»Services: Roofing work for
major housebuilders
»No. of employees: 30
»www.steadroof.com
Steadfast Roofing
19STEADFAST ROOFING |
CONSTRUCTION & ENGINEERING
Our vision to become the first-choice
roofing contractor for the major
housebuilders, based on a reputation
for quality, reliability, and health and
safety in an overcrowded marketplace,
was becoming a reality.
Returning to our core values
Four years ago, our founder and
chairman died unexpectedly. The
business was in turmoil, affected by an
event that might have brought it to an
end. The experience made us recognise
that the identity and success of our
company came from its employees and
our extensive training processes, which
promote ownership and accountability.
We decided to draw on the synergy
and expertise within the business.
Not only did we survive the crisis but we
also galvanised our spirits through our
vision, values and culture and started to
flourish. We have since replicated our
operation in Sharnbrook and opened
another office in Colchester to cover
the south and Essex regions, and are
expanding into Oxfordshire to cover the
western regions. We have also opened
a merchant business to supply local
contractors with a complete roofing
package. With group sales now in excess
of £21 million, the original ambitions of
some 30 years ago are being realised.
Studying business data
We understand that our working
environment is in a constant state of
flux and that it is important to test
systems and procedures regularly. We
have found it necessary to understand
our business by the use of strengths,
weaknesses, opportunities and threats
analysis. This is supplemented by
studying political, economic, social,
technological, environmental and
legal factors and IBIS data, alongside
good old-fashioned discussion.
Theseprocedures help us to
understand our customers, suppliers
and competitors; to form our own
business model; and to set goals and
write a business plan to give direction
and clarity. Analysing the data gives us
an insight into where to operate and
an understanding of the importance
of the basics of good housekeeping:
using stock control, debt collection,
budgets and key performance
indicators to build resilience and
adaptability in thebusiness.
An eminent local businessman once
told me, when I was complaining
about the cost of training and
employing bright people, that
education is very expensive but not
as expensive as ignorance, and I’ve
held this piece of advice close to my
thinking ever since.
Our business model uses capital
expenditure investment to ensure
that we have the capability to sustain
growth and to keep expertise, buying
and distribution in-house. We advise
against outsourcing to free up cash, as
such a strategy represents costs with
a 25 per cent surcharge and a loss of
control in the business and eventually
the expertise it’s invested in.
We pride ourselves on our health
and safety record. We focus our
efforts on cultural health and safety
and the education of best practices
to demonstrate that the safest way
is the most cost-effective and only
way. We believe in good welfare by
On the way to site
Education is
not as
expensive as
ignorance
“
“