Troy Homes starts the new financial year with infectious optimism and exciting plans to build on last year’s success and double its turnover. This optimism is fuelled by four well-grounded elements: excellent year end results, a pipeline of exceptional new developments with early sales interest, an intake of highly skilled new staff and continuously exceeding customer expectations.
Richard Werth, CEO, explains: “I am really looking forward to this new year as the company has never looked stronger. For example, we have just launched our new show home in Crown Gardens, Farnham Royal, to unprecedented interest and superb feedback. We have also recently acquired a number of very promising sites, including one in Hadley Wood with detailed planning permission for 14 lovely apartments and basement parking for 28 cars.”
To ensure that Troy Homes has the right talent it needs to drive this growth, they have recently appointed a number of new senior staff who join the company with many years’ experience and deep-rooted understanding of the new homes market.
Richard continues: “As Troy Homes grows we are ensuring we have critical skills in all parts of the development process rather than relying on staff having to multi task. We are hiring staff who have the right skills, expertise and experience who want to be part of our growth story. We do not micro-manage, nor do we have layers of middle management; instead, we trust our staff to make the necessary decisions to get the job done. However, we are also a close-knit team who share our everyday problems and triumphs. This makes Troy Homes a collaborative and fun working environment.”
Richard continues: “I am very pleased that we have just appointed Lee Redhead to be our new Land Director. He joins us with many years’ experience in this field, a wealth of contacts and an insightful understanding. He will be a great asset. The foundations of Troy Homes’ success lie in getting the right land for the right location, at the right price.”
In recent times the construction and property sectors have come in for some criticism for its lack of opportunities for women. Not so at Troy Homes. Richard says: “We look for staff with the right skills for the job and those who will be a good fit in our business – these are the important criteria for us. I am very pleased to say that one of our new Site Managers, Jackie Lainchbury, is an outstanding pioneer in a very male dominated role. The role of a Site Manager is extremely challenging, but she knows exactly what must be done and she is already proving that gender is not a barrier to success in construction. The same is true of our new surveyor, Alex Ellway, she is also excellent at her job. She has come to Troy Homes with the view to expand her role from material buying to becoming a skilled surveyor.”
2018/19 will not be without challenges. Bankers and funders are pre-disposed to provide better terms for larger businesses rather than SMEs; under-resourced planning departments in local councils continue to struggle with their workload creating delays in dealing with planning decisions and the see-saw of unhelpful media headlines, an unpredictable political climate and public confidence could make it very difficult for many in the new homes sector. With over 30 years’ experience Richard has seen many of these issues during his career in the industry. Troy Homes will cope with these challenges albeit Richard hopes that the Government will try to deliver on its promises to help SMEs rather than just provide political rhetoric..
Richard concludes: “Last winter was cold and seemed much longer than usual, which is usually bad for business, but we came out of it very well and are extremely enthusiastic for this year. One of our advantages is that we are a small, nimble company and can adapt very quickly if we need. But more importantly, we have a very motivated staff and an entrepreneurial philosophy where talent is nurtured and respected. I am sure that Troy Homes will continue to exceed all expectations amongst our staff, suppliers, funders and customers. 2018/19 should definitely be ‘our’ year!”
