The owners of a county landscaping business are forecasting a big upturn in business following a relocation and planned rebrand.
Brothers Jeff and Barry Randall have been in business together since 2006, running Small Landscapes and Paving.
On March 22, they are renaming the business The Leicestershire Garden Design and Landscaping Company, which they hope will broaden their appeal to potential customers.
Current rates start at around £5,000, although with the rebrand they expect the starting figure to rise to £15,000.
The company raised its profile last year after featuring in an episode of the BBC’s DIY SOS, presented by Nick Knowles, and a Richard Hammond candid camera show called Secret Service.
The business recently moved to new premises in The Warren, East Goscote, where it can show off its gardening services.
Barry said attracting a reputation as “the best dressed landscaping company” around had helped build up work from referrals.
He said: “Business peaked and troughed during the recession, but has grown quickly over the last year.
“We don’t just design gardens but build them and offer life-long maintenance – it’s a seamless transition.
“Last year, we had about 250 jobs and have gone from two of us to having 12 people working for us.
“We’ve also taken on three apprentices and have a team leader that has relocated from Suffolk.
“We started taking people on almost from day one – after deciding how we were going to market the business we started taking subcontractors on, but quickly found the right people and offered them contracts.”
Barry said they turned over £378,000 last year and hope to see that grow significantly in the coming years.
He said: “We’re now building a sample centre in East Goscote so that our clients can see live gardens and the products.
“It’s also inside, which is quite unique. There will be paving samples, miniature gardens, water features and outdoor furniture.
“We took a six-year lease on the property in November and believe we can build the business up to a turnover of £3 million in three years.”
Barry said they had prospered by trying to maintain a happy and busy workforce.
He said: “I’ve been in this business for 20 years and worked with lots of different companies.
“We wanted to create something that was a bit more unique, with a strong team spirit to ensure the staff approach the work as enjoyable.”
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