Fylde coast housing contractor looking to double in size following Boost support

A Fylde coast construction and refurbishment company has almost doubled in size over the past five years and is now looking to double again over the coming years, following support from Boost; Lancashire’s Business Growth Hub.

Evolution was established by JJ Fitzgerald in 2012 and works with housing associations, local authorities and other organisations across the North West to deliver general build and electrical refurbishment work on residential properties.

This includes joinery, window and door installations, electrical rewires and disability adaptions. The company currently employs around 80 staff and its clients include housing association Blackpool Coastal Housing, Blackpool Council and residential property developer Placefirst.

By 2020, the company had grown from a startup, initially focused on electrical installations, to a £4m business offering a range of electrical and general refurbishment services.

JJ was looking to continue Evolution’s growth, in particular through expanding the company’s tender work with local authorities and other public bodies. He was referred to Boost by around the time of the Covid-19 pandemic.

JJ said: “We had a personal adviser through Boost and that was real driver to help us get from £4m to £6m turnover. We were then referred to Boost’s scaleup support programme and we found the group sessions, in particular, really beneficial. 

“They included companies from different sectors which gives you a different perspective on the business. Doing things the same way as we have before is not necessarily the best way to grow - the sessions helped us to see that by gaining a range of different viewpoints.”

Boost is Lancashire’s Growth Hub and is led and delivered by Lancashire County Council. It brings together and simplifies the local, regional and national support landscape, helping people in business find the right business support at the right time. Since 2013, it has supported over 20,000 businesses, helped create over 3,500 jobs while adding over £130m to the economy.

Boost gives all Lancashire businesses access to a fully-funded Business Support Helpdesk with a team of advisers who can guide them to the most relevant local, regional and national business support programmes for them. Boost also offers targeted support programmes throughout the year.

In particular, JJ said hearing from manufacturers about common industry processes helped the company refine its building techniques and streamline its operations.

His ambition is now for Evolution to reach £10-15m turnover while maintaining healthy margins, by focusing on growing within its core geographies of the Fylde coast and Lancashire.

“We want to make sure we’re also working with organisations with similar values to our own,” added JJ. “When companies share our values, it means that if any issues arise we can have a sensible conversation.

“Social value is important to Evolution and I want to make sure we are consistent with that. We’re not a company that says we will do things on tender documents but does not do it.”

Offering advice to other growing businesses, JJ said: “Get involved with the Boost programmes – it’s important to get other people’s opinions on things and Boost is great for that. You might not necessarily take all of those opinions, but at least you have gained a new perspective.”