Signage firm sales set to soar by 25%

Jul 22 2008 by Graeme King, The Journal

SALES at a leading North East signage company are set to soar by 25% in two years after a new owner took charge.

Saltwell Signs, based on the Team Valley in Gateshead, has just been bought out by entrepreneurial Jason Hathaway, five years after he joined the business.

The seven-figure deal to acquire the business from previous owner Michael Timmons was secured by Mr Hathaway with backing from the Alliance & Leicester and advice from business advisers RMT.

Saltwell Signs posted sales of £2.4m last year and is on target to hit an impressive £3m this year. Mr Hathaway is determined to take that figure to £4m by the end of 2010.

He is investing in new premises to accommodate an expanded fabrication department, is adopting a new image for the business and is taking on new staff to fuel his growth plans.

The company has also recently acquired a high-profile new client – Saltwell Signs will provide all signage for Newcastle United’s extensive hospitality operations at St James’s Park this season.

Mr Hathaway said: “When I took over, the business had 40 staff, and we will have 50 by the end of this month, including a couple of trainees. My first sales figures after taking over were the best we’ve done in 37 years. If it can continue to go as it has, I will be very pleased.

“I’m putting plans in place for the next three, four and five years. We can’t accommodate the custom we’ve got in the space we have currently.

“We will be moving the fabrication department at the end of July to a unit three times the size of where they are now, but still on Team Valley.”

Saltwell Signs’ customers include companies such as Sky Television, bookmaker William Hill, roadside services operator Road Chef and Fergusons Transport.

Mr Hathaway said winning the Newcastle United contract was good from a company point of view, but he was also pleased to get the work from a personal perspective as a long-standing fan of the club.

He said: “The deal to work with Newcastle United this season is very high-profile work and the fact of doing it, not the money, is really significant to me.”

When I took over, the business had 40 staff, and we will have 50 by the end of this month, including a couple of trainees. My first sales figures after taking over were the best we’ve done in 37 years.