Furniture firm top of class in public sector

With annual turnover of £400m, the YPO is the largest public sector buying organisation in the UK and provides a ‘one stop shop’ to the education and wider public sector markets.

Claughtons, which is based in Melton, East Yorkshire, and was founded in 1965, specialises in educational furniture, project managing school refurbishments and stationery, and has a predominantly public sector-based customer base.

Gerard Toplass, managing director at Claughtons, said: “Claughtons is delighted to have been recognised as a supplier of high quality educational furniture by YPO. The tender process we have undertaken is one of the toughest there is, as YPO set very high expectations of their suppliers.”

In the last year, Claughtons has been involved in the Hull Building Schools for the Future programme where it provided an all-inclusive furniture and fitting bundle for the £33m Archbishop Sentamu Academy.

Mr Toplass said the approval from YPO will “strengthen our proposition for all public sector organisations, making it easier for them to buy our products and services in the knowledge that we are compliant with UK procurement legislation”.

Privately-owned Claughtons, which had a turnover of £1.2m four years ago, is forecasting a £3.5m turnover for the year ending May 2012, and expects this to reach £4.5m in the following year.

Strategic growth of the company since 2008 has seen the buyout of Mike Page Office Supplies and John W Adams to strengthen the company’s stationery offer.

Mr Toplass said he expects the company’s 36-strong headcount to increase to 40 or 41 in the next financial year, adding that the business now has “the platform to have good growth, not only in revenue, but in profits too”.

Primarily covering the area from the north of Birmingham to the Scottish Borders, with some work in the South East, Claughtons has predominantly focused on the education sector. But Mr Toplass said: “We will probably try to push more into the wider public sector.”

Mr Toplass, who has been the managing director of Claughtons since he led a management buyout in 2008, stressed the importance of “good quality buildings and facilities” for schools, adding that while 2010’s Comprehensive Spending was followed by 18 months of budget cuts, he has noticed that the educational sector is starting to spend again.

With the axing of national school rebuilding programme for England, Building Schools for the Future, many schools were left in need of refurbishment.

When tendering for public sector contracts, Mr Toplass said businesses must build a case around their strengths and deal with their weaknesses. He added: “If you do it properly, you end up with a better quality business.

“If you are a small business in whatever sector you make your own luck.

“If you are small, you have got to make more calls, do more quotes and if your margins are being cut you’ve got to do more deals. The harder you work, the luckier you are.”

Claughtons has its sights set on “radically looking at the design of its products for education”, said Mr Toplass.

“We want to try and inspire a bit more. We are looking at new materials, new designs, and bringing inspiration back into the public sector.”

Mr Toplass said: “We are working extremely hard, our sales efforts are extremely focused, and we are working very hard on creating a sustainable proposition for our customers.”

He added: “As a company we have always been dedicated to providing the public sector and the education sector specifically, with outstanding furniture and products, which not only meet the client’s needs, but exceed their expectations.”

Phil Taylor, design manager at YPO, said: “I would like to congratulate Claughtons on this great achievement of becoming an official YPO supplier.

“At YPO we only choose premier companies as our suppliers that offer, not only high-quality products, but provide outstanding customer service.

“These are qualities that Claughtons demonstrated throughout the tender selection process. We really look forward to working with the company in the forthcoming years.”

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