Pimlico Plumbers is announcing record sales for its most recent financial year, delivering a turnover of £35 million during 2016-17.
The central London-based company, which provides a range of plumbing, heating, electrical, drainage, roofing, small building and home appliance services, has experienced a 20 per cent rise in sales for the 12 month period ending 31 May 2017.
During this record financial year the company hit a number of turnover milestones, most notably its first ever £3 million month in its 38-year history in October 2016 when it achieved sales of £3.15 million. This record was quickly broken in November 2016 with sales of £3.4 million with a further two months, December 2016 and January 2017 also breaching the £3 million barrier.
Founder and Chief Executive Charlie Mullins has attributed this substantial growth to the company’s ongoing expansion strategy, which has seen the company increase its workforce to create the capacity to serve its rising customer base.
During the 16/17 financial year, the company created employment for 25 experienced engineers and 15 support staff, which took Pimlico Plumbers’ workforce to around 375.
In addition to growing its workforce, the company has also been expanding its facilities, having embarked on a £1million refurbishment of its 30,000 sq. ft. headquarters in Lambeth.
The building has undergone a significant internal redesign to maximise space including the creation of a new 2,000 sq. ft. sales and estimates office. In the New Year, the company is set to add an additional storey to the building, creating a further 10,000 sq. ft. of expansion space. Additional premises acquired adjacent to the company’s Sail Street HQ will add another 20,000 sq. ft. to its portfolio.
Charlie said: “The momentum we have built over the last decade has been phenomenal, but we have to keep up the pace. If we had made the same sales in 2016-17 as we did in 2015-16 revenue would have been down; so our realisation that we needed to do better, just to stand still, is what is responsible for the increase in revenue over the past year, and is the single biggest factor that continues to drive the company on to new heights.
“Increasing our head count and our capacity has enabled us bring in more jobs, which is keeping the expanded workforce busy to the tune of an additional five million worth of sales, and helped secure more of the London market.”
Charlie added: “There have been challenges, with growth in the economy slowing as a result of what is now commonly-referred to as the ‘Brexit-Effect’, being the major enemy. However, being faced with a less friendly trading environment, for the most part due to inflation and price competition, has actually served as the spur we needed to do better.
“We are a great company, and the plan is to continue to expand at a pace which I hope will in the next five years take us to the next level, where I expect to be talking about annual numbers in excess of £100 million. To achieve this will be a huge challenge, but one that we as a company are uniquely positioned to take on, due to Pimlico Plumbers’ unparalleled approach to providing the most excellent customer service.”
