Eco-friendly firm aiming for £2.5m turnover

May 28 2008 by Chris Knox, The Journal

A FAMILY-run housing development company expects to see its turnover rocket after deciding to build its own properties and move into eco-friendly developments.

Last January saw South Close Developments in Riding Mill, Northumberland, begin its self-build projects after working with sub-contractors since setting up in 1994, and now expects to expand its £500,000 turnover to £2.5m in four years time.

The Rosby family, who are working on their first development in Hexham, Northumberland, is also keen to draw on their engineering expertise to create a portfolio of high-spec ecologically friendly homes, which include heating pumps and polystyrene-based brickwork.

Eric Rosby set up the firm, after selling the assets of his heating and ventilation franchise Trane North East back to its American parent company in 1989.

After spending the next five years in Birmingham as a director of Trane’s UK operations, he decided to revive and re-brand the franchise to start his property development ambitions.

Before January, the firm relied on subcontractors for its developments, which have included the transformation of a grade II listed period coaching Inn in Hexham into a five-bedroom home, and could only begin a new development once its previous one was completed. As well as undertaking multiple developments, the firm is now hoping to double its staff to 30 by 2012.

Mr Rosby said: “I picked up a lot during my time with Trane and it was there I started thinking about whether I could front a businesses that used environmentally friendly heating and ventilation as part of its standard building policy. Now we have the capacity to build our own homes, I am confident we can really begin to expand.”

The developments will include a new kind of brickwork, which combines concrete and foam to provide greater insulation, and heating pumps that recycle heat from the air and ground outside of the buildings.

Mr Rosby is being helped by his family, including son Ben, who has a degree in engineering and his grandson Sam, who is an apprentice joiner with the firm, while his wife Chrissie is company secretary.

Although he acknowledges the problems caused by the credit crunch, Mr Rosby is confident of success.

“It is a real joint effort by the family, and we have a number of different skills to contribute. Each one of us is behind the move into self-build and see the growing attraction of eco-friendly homes as a way of avoiding the problems facing the industry.”

I started thinking about whether I could use environmentally friendly heating and ventilation