Case Study – Digby StoneJanuary 2014

Snapshot – impact of GrowthAccelerator

• A growth strategy which has set the company on track to achieve its turnover target of £8m by 2016.Greater operational and financial control following the implementation of new systems, clarification of roles and recruitment of specialists.The acquisition of a new site to enable efficiencies, new revenue, growth and service improvements.

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About

Set up in 2008 by Darren and Claire Digby to capitalise on their landscape design experience, Digby Stone supplies independent builders merchants with natural stone such as granite, limestone, sandstone and slate which it imports from India and China. Operating from a head office in Stourbridge, the company also rented storage yards at Felixstowe and Oldbury. The company's reputation for quality and service has driven rapid growth in just five years and it was named Best Supplier of the Year 2013 in the National Buying Group's annual awards.

The business challenge

Despite the fact that Digby Stone's standing in the industry is second to none and it has a first-rate chance of becoming a big business, the founders felt they had reached the point where their marketing and sales skills alone couldn't support further expansion. They recognised the need to step back from everyday detail, think strategically and get every aspect of the business more organised and geared up for growth.

Sector: Landscape materials importer No of employees: 10 (plus subcontractors at yards)Turnover: £4m (2012) Location: HalesowenGrowth Manager: Cherry LloydService used: Business Development, Leadership & Management

How GrowthAccelerator has helped

Growth Coaches Neil Young and Martin Dobbs worked with Darren and Claire to develop a five year plan. From this came clarity about the most pressing priorities: embedding strong financial and operational management into the heart of the business and developing their leadership and management skills so they could free themselves to concentrate on strategy and sales.

The combination of leadership training and taking a long-term, holistic view has enabled the Digbys to prepare every aspect of the business for accelerated growth, from finances and premises to systems and skills. They have, for example, augmented their accounting software with a bespoke warehouse management system and recruited a company accountant. They have also bought four acres of land in Halesowen to accommodate both their head office and storage yard, a rationalisation that will make a big difference to the potential for smooth and significant growth.

'GrowthAccelerator has changed the face of the business, helping us to make small changes that will have a massive impact in the long term,' says Claire. 'I don't believe any one person can bring everything that's needed to run a business. We have been very successful in terms of sales and achieved good, controlled growth but we have now learned how to take the long view so we can take the company to the next level.'

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