Montagu Evans goes from SME to big business
Surveyancy firm Montagu Evans have increased their turnover from £26m to £40m since securing a place on a government supplier framework.
The reception area in Montagu Evans' London office
Montagu Evans is a highly regarded property consultancy, with a range of offices throughout the UK, including London, Manchester, Edinburgh, Glasgow and the Channel Islands.
In 2009, at the height of the recession, Rob Bower, partner and head of Montagu Evans Professional Services, realised the best way to ensure the organisation’s continued growth would be to focus on delivering public sector contracts.
Although Montagu Evans already had clients in the public sector the company were not on any of the official government frameworks, and Rob quickly realised this was a barrier to getting the amount of public sector business they wanted.
In 2012, Montagu Evans applied for a place on the Estates Professional Services (EPS) Framework, and were successful. Instantly it had a positive effect on the business. Rob said:
Clients were delighted that they could easily access our services and use us. As a result we have grown that market and developed long term partnerships,which is one of our most important core values.
The results
After winning a place on the EPS framework, Montagu Evans has continued to grow. Expanding their workforce from 225 to 325 employees, they re now considered a big business rather than an SME. Rob added:
Back in 2012 when we applied for a place on the EPS Framework our annual turnover was £26.5m, but today it’s £40m. A significant part of this growth is due to our place on the EPS Framework.
Rob’s advice for winning government business
There are two tips that I’d give to SMEs wanting to win government business. The first is to have absolute confidence in what you’re selling, and being sure that you can provide a quality service, deliver on time and have a product that government wants.
The second tip is to invest in both external and internal expertise to help you write your bids and provide specific knowledge through the bid writing process. If you are serious about doing business with government then you may need to invest - the rewards will come as Montagu Evans have found.
Do you want to supply or sell to government?
- use Contracts Finder to search for contracts worth over £10,000
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Do you need advice on how to win government contracts?
- read the guide on how to become a supplier through CCS
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