Post by Poundbury on Jun 24, 2009 14:48:36 GMT 1
www.telegraph.co.uk/sponsored/business/businesstruth/5623873/Morrish-Builders-builds-on-relationship-with-bank.html
Morrish Builders builds on relationship with bank
The house building sector has been hit hard by the recession but, according to Steve Morrish, there are still good opportunities for niche operators, such as his company, Morrish Builders.
The firm, based in Poole, Dorset, and formed in 1982 via a demerger from some of the other interests of his family, focuses on building in Dorset, Somerset and Devon.
It builds residential housing for sale and commercial buildings, which it lets.
On the residential side, its work has involved building some of the new homes in Poundbury, the urban extension to Dorchester in Dorset, which seeks to implement the principles expounded in The Prince of Wales’s 1989 book, A Vision of Britain, and is famous internationally as a pioneering example of urban development.
Mr Morrish, 54, joint managing director of Morrish Builders with his brother David, says the firm’s small size has protected it from the industry contraction that has afflicted Britain’s volume house builders.
“We have about 150 homes under construction and we hope to complete on about 100, which has been a consistent number over the past few years,” he says. “Five years ago, we were completing on about 75-80 homes a year.
“So we have achieved good sales this year, although prices have dropped and the houses we are developing are smaller than usual.
“We have certainly not experienced the fall in volumes of the major house builders.”
Turnover over the past three years has been stable at about £16m, but Morrish Builders nonetheless recently felt the need to restructure its finances to longer term arrangements.
Clearly, the company’s long-standing relationship with its bank was a key factor in securing extra borrowing. Terms were agreed to reduce the company’s overdraft and to have a rolling loan based on its property portfolio.
Mr Morrish says the total size of the funding package provided is more than £10m, which will give support for long-term growth.
“The company was not in any trouble,” he says, “but we felt that it would be more appropriate if we had longer-term loans in place.
“We have an incredibly good relationship with our bank, so we didn’t go anywhere else when we needed to change our financing arrangements.
“We know the bank and didn’t feel the need to approach any others.”
Morrish Builders builds on relationship with bank
The house building sector has been hit hard by the recession but, according to Steve Morrish, there are still good opportunities for niche operators, such as his company, Morrish Builders.
The firm, based in Poole, Dorset, and formed in 1982 via a demerger from some of the other interests of his family, focuses on building in Dorset, Somerset and Devon.
It builds residential housing for sale and commercial buildings, which it lets.
On the residential side, its work has involved building some of the new homes in Poundbury, the urban extension to Dorchester in Dorset, which seeks to implement the principles expounded in The Prince of Wales’s 1989 book, A Vision of Britain, and is famous internationally as a pioneering example of urban development.
Mr Morrish, 54, joint managing director of Morrish Builders with his brother David, says the firm’s small size has protected it from the industry contraction that has afflicted Britain’s volume house builders.
“We have about 150 homes under construction and we hope to complete on about 100, which has been a consistent number over the past few years,” he says. “Five years ago, we were completing on about 75-80 homes a year.
“So we have achieved good sales this year, although prices have dropped and the houses we are developing are smaller than usual.
“We have certainly not experienced the fall in volumes of the major house builders.”
Turnover over the past three years has been stable at about £16m, but Morrish Builders nonetheless recently felt the need to restructure its finances to longer term arrangements.
Clearly, the company’s long-standing relationship with its bank was a key factor in securing extra borrowing. Terms were agreed to reduce the company’s overdraft and to have a rolling loan based on its property portfolio.
Mr Morrish says the total size of the funding package provided is more than £10m, which will give support for long-term growth.
“The company was not in any trouble,” he says, “but we felt that it would be more appropriate if we had longer-term loans in place.
“We have an incredibly good relationship with our bank, so we didn’t go anywhere else when we needed to change our financing arrangements.
“We know the bank and didn’t feel the need to approach any others.”
