Entrepreneur on optimising unused spaces and the “fast-paced” retail sector
FRASER PROJECTS is tucked away in a former Morley mill building, and is getting a fresh revamp as it embarks on its next phase of growth.
As Ryan Fraser, managing director of the firm said: “You may as well change space that your company is in rather than pay city centre rates.”
“Instead of Grade A office space, companies should think about turning older buildings into something new. It’s better for the environment, and we get creative when we think about what we can do with something old, which leaves a lasting impression.”
Mr Fraser, who started out as a plasterer, launched the business, which offers building and interiors services, in its current guise in 2011, after being in the construction industry for 15 years.
Previously Fraser Projects had acted as a subcontractor for larger construction firms such as Balfour Beatty and Carillion. “Now we do the full package” said Mr Fraser. The firm has cut out the main contractor as the middleman in the construction process, going direct to clients.
“We’ve actually gone full-circle,” he said. “We have full control of what’s going on, and though we’re working on smaller projects now, we have free reign to do everything from building work to interior design.”
The demographic of their client base has changed because of this, but the firm has a solid base of retail and leisure clients such as Morrisons, has worked on retail units in Trinity Leeds and the high profile 220,000 sq ft Royal Mail depot at Heathrow.
Mr Fraser said: “Retail is fast-paced and expectations are higher from clients. If they close a shop down for a refit, it could cost them £30,000 a day, so they can’t afford to have lost days.”
The firm has launched a finance system to complement its revamped business model, Mr Fraser explained that it was “so businesses don’t have to put their aspirations on hold over money.”
They have not escaped unscathed as a wave of insolvencies hit the construction sector, with firms like Southdale and Hewletts going under, and Shepherd selling off their divisions, as Fraser Projects’ work with Longcross ground to a halt.
Mr Fraser explained: “New build contractors are using still using low recession rates for jobs, but you can’t get good labour in such low-paying jobs. Bigger companies are really losing out because of it, and subcontractors are feeling it.
“Luckily we didn’t put all our eggs in one basket. There are still problems in the industry. There is a huge skills shortage, which means that we have to bring in foreign workers.”
Skills shortages have been a well-known issue in the construction industry and Mr Fraser thinks that the root cause is education.
“Schools dismiss construction for intelligent students, they don’t consider it intellectual enough,” he said. “Kids aren’t taught about the longer-term vision and are more concerned with the smaller wage packet if they go into an apprenticeship.
“If the government or the industry brought up the minimum wage for apprentices that would definitely help. Kids can’t afford a car or to go out on minimum wage.
“Smaller businesses should get funding to pay better wages. Otherwise apprenticeships are considered short-term, and they start looking for another job in a different industry.”
Quantity surveyors can earn more than £60,000, “but younger people don’t see the pay scale,” said Mr Fraser, “They don’t see the opportunity that comes with a career in construction, and it’s a shame.”
“We need to open their minds and get kids to look into construction as a career path, not just thinking of it as builders with their bums out. There are so many skilled people.
“The root of it is at school. The old mindset has stuck, particularly with the genders. The foundations are there but it’s still hard to sell construction.”
The firm has gone from a turnover of £670,000 to £1.2m, with a predicted £2m turnover next year and in the next three years the firm is looking at revenues of £5m.
