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<\/p>\nPainter and decorator Alfred Bagnall and Sons Limited (Bagnalls) has weathered wars, recessions, financial crashes and global pandemics. Sheryl Moore meets Stephen Bagnall and discovers why the family firm is still brushing up nicely after 150 years.<\/p>\n
In the boardroom of Bagnalls\u2019 Cleckheaton headquarters, a freshly painted portrait hangs alongside four others. The man in the frame, Stephen Bagnall, is the fifth generation to lead the company. His predecessors – father, grandfather, great-grandfather and great-great-grandfather – look down from the same wall.<\/p>\n
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While Stephen\u2019s journey to the helm of the family firm was never a foregone conclusion, his pride and sense of responsibility as \u2018custodian of the family firm\u2019 is palpable.<\/p>\n
And the symbolism of the portraits is not lost \u201cIt\u2019s what drives me the most,\u201d he says. \u201cBuilding on the legacy of these four people behind me.\u201d<\/p>\n
That legacy stretches back to 1875. From painting bridges in Victorian Britain to redecorating Premier League stadia, Bagnalls has splashed colour across the country for a century and a half. Today, it is a leading specialist contractor with turnover of around \u00a358m and several record years following the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n
Its customer base is both diverse and prestigious: major railway companies, leisure firms, property management giants such as CBRE, Jones Lang LaSalle and OCS. The education sector is also central, with projects across hundreds of schools and universities including Leeds, King\u2019s College, UCL and Liverpool. Industrial clients include Jaguar Land Rover, JCB, and Caterpillar, while the portfolio also features iconic stadia such as Chelsea and Arsenal FCs.<\/p>\n
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Perhaps what truly sets Bagnalls apart is its unrivalled commitment to people. Since taking on its first apprentice in 1877, the company now employs around 650 staff, including more than 100 apprentices, and boasts high retention rates. Unlike many competitors, Bagnalls rarely uses subcontractors, preferring to invest in training and directly employ its workforce. \u201cWe do it to take control of safety, quality and ultimately reputation\u2026 If you\u2019re in it for the long term, you invest in your people,\u201d says Stephen.<\/p>\n
The story began in rural Staffordshire in the late 19th century with Alfred Bagnall, a young man of ambition and little formal education. After jobs as a farmhand and messenger, he landed at the Metropolitan Cammell Carriage and Wagon Company (MCCW), where, despite being colour-blind, he picked up the painting trade. What others might have seen as a career-ending flaw, Alfred treated as a hurdle to overcome.<\/p>\n
By 1875 he was in Shipley, West Yorkshire, working with a local master painter and soon won his first major contract \u2014 painting a bridge at Charlestown. The \u00a3258 contract laid the foundations of Alfred Bagnall and Sons Limited.<\/p>\n
By the turn of the century, Bagnalls was decorating homes, railway carriages and government buildings. Alfred\u2019s son Harry joined, continuing the family line and embedding apprentice training as a company hallmark. By 1908, annual sales had reached \u00a317,000 – a remarkable sum for the time.<\/p>\n
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The business formally incorporated in 1911, just in time to weather two world wars. Far from retreating, it secured contracts painting barracks, hospitals, and even camouflage work on factories and airfields as far afield as France. By 1915, Bagnalls employed more than 400 workers. In the post-war boom, it painted the original Wembley twin towers (formerly the Empire Stadium) in 1922 ahead of the Empire Exhibition in 1924 and FA Cup Final. The company was called up again during the Second World War to paint ordnance factories, aircraft plants and camouflage projects. Growth in the following decades saw turnover swell in the mid-1960s. Around this time Stephen\u2019s father, John, joined the family business, becoming the fourth-generation managing director in 1972.<\/p>\n
For Stephen, however, joining the firm was not on his agenda. \u201cI had never any interest in coming into the business, although I had worked here since the age of 14,\u201d he recalls. \u201cDuring the summer holidays, I painted factories\u2026 but it was just to earn a bit of money.\u201d<\/p>\n
Instead, his passion was forensic science, which he hoped to study at Oxford. Though he passed the exams, he failed the interviews and later struggled with his A-levels, having focused too much on the Oxford entrance process. At this crossroads, his father raised the idea of him joining the business \u2014 with conditions. \u201cDad said, \u2018If you want to join, you can, but you must get a First or 2:1 honours degree in one of four subjects: law, accountancy, business administration, or\u00a0quantity surveying.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
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Stephen Bagnall<\/p><\/div>\n
Stephen chose quantity surveying at South Bank Polytechnic in London. \u201cThat was the turning point. I got my 2:1, didn\u2019t enjoy the subject, but had a great time. I grew up and learned about life and people.\u201d<\/p>\n
On graduation, Stephen entered Bagnalls as a management trainee – a programme his father had introduced in 1975 and which continues today. Determined he wouldn\u2019t work directly under him, John sent Stephen to the Ellesmere Port branch.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I arrived, we won our biggest contract – \u00a31 million a year with Shell UK. I was based at the Stanlow refinery with a full office setup and ended up running a small business as part of a large company at a very young age.\u201d<\/p>\n
His responsibilities expanded from operational management to spearheading quality assurance standards and acquisitions. \u201cI sort of made a job for myself. I was allowed to do things that others weren\u2019t really interested in. It was a case of, \u2018You\u2019re a graduate, you must know stuff like sales and marketing and information technology.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Stephen\u2019s relationship with his father was complex, marked by both mentorship and tension. Stephen returned to head office in 1993, following the year in which his grandfather had died and he was appointed to the board. \u201cI had absolutely no power or influence; Dad just wanted another family member on board.\u201d<\/p>\n
The turning point came in 1998 when John fell seriously ill. \u201cThat was a very significant event. I thought I knew virtually everything\u2026 and then it all went very badly wrong. We were beginning to clash, because I thought I knew almost everything – which I didn\u2019t. Still don\u2019t but now realise I don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
During his father\u2019s illness, Stephen and his uncle stepped in as joint managing directors. \u201cWe muddled through while Dad went through horrific surgery with a high risk he wouldn\u2019t come back.\u201d<\/p>\n
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John eventually recovered but stepped down in 2004, becoming non-executive chairman. \u201cHe realised he needed to do it. He was being coached\u2026 and they were saying, \u2018Come on, it\u2019s time.\u2019 Dad was 63\u2026 I think he realised that I wasn\u2019t a complete idiot,\u201d Stephen laughs.<\/p>\n
No 150-year journey comes without challenges. The economic downturns of the 1930s, 1990s and financial crisis of 2008 all forced Bagnalls to rethink. In the 1970s, a disastrous project at Bidston Moss viaduct nearly broke the company. \u201cWe were shot blasting the structure and couldn\u2019t get the existing paint coating off. It took ten times as long and cost us millions. We instructed the top QC in the land to defend us; we won and got a handsome settlement.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 2008 global financial crash was another stern test. \u201cWe\u2019d had a strong year in 2008, but in 2009 we decided, for the first time ever, not to buy our own vans and instead, took to contract hire. That went against the corporate grain, but we wanted to keep cash in the business knowing a horrendous crisis was in the making.\u201d<\/p>\n
As contracts dried up, the company bid for jobs it would not normally take on. Some proved costly, while record rainfall in 2012 disrupted projects further. Yet prudent cash management, reliance on directly employed labour and sheer determination enabled Bagnalls to survive where others faltered.<\/p>\n
The COVID-19 pandemic brought new pressures. With work restricted and many competitors turning to government loans, Bagnalls again faced a crisis. But decades of discipline paid off. By carefully managing resources and refusing to overstretch, the firm ended the year not just intact but profitable. \u201cIt was a flipping miracle,\u201d Stephen laughs.<\/p>\n
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Bagnalls has long been defined by family ownership and values passed down through generations. While family ownership is sacrosanct, leadership is earned, not inherited. The company employs two fifth generation members being Stephen and his cousin group people director, Ellie Jobes.\u00a0 In addition, the company now employs two sixth generation family members representing the new wave committed to legacy and evolution.<\/p>\n
The current board blends family and non-family members, including two former apprentices who worked their way up. \u201cI\u2019ve got two directors who started with a paintbrush in their hands. And I love that. I\u2019m most proud of that,\u201d says Stephen, underlining the company\u2019s commitment to meritocracy and growth from within.<\/p>\n
While family ownership remains \u201cabsolutely not up for discussion,\u201d Stephen and the board are clear that long-term health depends on competence at the top, regardless of surname. \u201cWho will run it? Maybe a family member, if they\u2019ve got the right skills, behaviours and attitude. If not, we\u2019ll find the right person. Why put it in the hands of somebody who just had the \u2018right\u2019 surname?\u201d<\/p>\n
As for his own future, Stephen is clear: he will remain at Bagnalls \u201cas long as I\u2019m wanted, needed, and bringing value. I\u2019m still very driven, and what inspires me most is honouring and extending the legacy of the Bagnalls before me.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Meet this week’s Chief in the Chair, Stephen Bagnall, head of family-owned painting and decorator, Alfred Bagnalls and Sons Limited<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":271992,"featured_media":2144316,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53262],"coauthors":[137100],"class_list":["post-2144311","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-news","tag-featured-story","tag-yorkshire"],"yoast_head":"\n