News - Midlands
Forever young
Welcome to a sleepy Newark. It's a Friday, the midday sun is belting down and everyone is enjoying, or not enjoying as the case may be, the last days of a summer heatwave. The streets are melting, pensioners are pausing for breath on the riverfront benches, and traffic crawls along for no particular reason.
Such a languid pace of life seems completely at odds with Graham Cartledge's business. Here is a man who has built a provincial architectural practice into one of the biggest players in the world, a business that is helping reshape cities across the globe. Yet it's all being masterminded right here from Newark.
On entering Benoy's Northgate offices, an imposing detached Victorian pile in the heart of the town, one is met by a cacophony of noise from the floors above. Within minutes of announcing my arrival I hear a particularly booming voice matched by bounding footsteps coming from way up high. "That's him, he's on his way now," remarks the receptionist, who clearly knows the sound of her boss from an impressive distance. What might seem a throwaway comment actually speaks volumes. When Cartledge is in residence and not travelling the world you can be sure staff know about it too.
Within minutes of greeting me Cartledge reveals that he only got back in the early hours from Abu Dhabi. "Flight was diverted via Gatwick and I only got in about 2 am," he moans. Even so he remains remarkably chirpy over lunch. Even the heat doesn't pose a problem. "Oh it was getting on for 50 degrees out there. This is nothing," he says.
Before we set off for lunch at Cafe Bleu a few yards further down the high street, Cartledge is keen to show me around. Whisking me upstairs past boxes of computers he says: "Sorry, we're having a bit of a refurb." Aside from the boxes I'm struck by the youthfulness of the office. Two large rooms are full of what look to be late 20-somethings, all glued to computer screens that show
eye-catching designs. As Cartledge later remarks: "We are a young team here. Bright young people are keen to join us here. They buy in to the brand."
Eventually we stumble into the boardroom and, with its heavy door closed shut, peace descends. It's time to catch up on the Benoy story. Unprompted, Cartledge rattles off a complex history, a history that really sprang to life when he bought into the business on the retirement of its founder in the early 1980s. "From day one I knew we never had to let distance and location be a disadvantage. London is only 80 minutes on the train from here and we had to ensure we were on the first train in the morning and last train back if that was what it took to get the work," he says.
That readiness to mix with the big boys in the capital soon caught the eye, leading to an offer Cartledge couldn't refuse from international design group Fitch in 1987. "They bought us for £34m. I suppose it was too good a deal to turn down," he says. But although he says being owned by Fitch was important and helped the firm "understand London", the deal didn't work and Cartledge was soon itching to get back in full control.
"Initially I was lined up to be part of a consortium but then decided I wanted go it alone and just buy it back myself. I annoyed a lot of people in the process but I won and got it back for £3600,000. What a great deal that was," he says.
Cartledge is still proud of this raid and shows me two pictures on the wall. One is of him signing the deal with Fitch; the other shows him in front of his workforce in the car park after completing the buyout in 1992. "I ended up sacking half of them the day after," he quips, "but they were all back on the payroll in nine months." The business hasn't looked back.
As we walk to lunch Cartledge talks me through the firm's big breakthrough, its contract to design the Bluewater shopping complex in Kent. How did he win it? "Oh, like all these things it was all a bit by chance really," he say. "It sprang out of a chance meeting at a cocktail party in London. It turned out I knew all the key players and was invited to tender. We ended up doubling the size of the firm to do the deal. Yes, it was risky, but it was a risk worth taking."
Beating off competition for a landmark scheme in the backyard of London's property mafia proved hugely symbolic for Benoy. Although its core operations were still in Newark, it had opened an office in London to meet growing demand (today it employs more in London than Newark). Overnight the deal turned Benoy from a provincial firm into a national one with a reputation in urban design and shopping centres. And the business could confidently stride into other cities. In Manchester it would do the masterplanning for the city centre after the IRA bomb. In Birmingham it would go on to help reshape Bullring.
Cartledge saw no reason to stop at Dover. Soon he was marching onto the Continent, winning contracts in a host of European cities. "We followed the project, then moved on. It would have been pointless to have opened a flashy new office in every capital city," he says. Simultaneously he began laying firm foundations in the Far East out of Hong Kong. That move put Benoy in a prime position for the burgeoning Chinese market. "Hong Kong developers were starting to move into China in a serious way and realised we might start getting pitches," he says. "At this time agents like CBRE were already out there and they encouraged us to pitch for business."
But he admits to having had "mixed results" in China, although he won't go into specifics. Instead he is visibly excited by the firm's prospects for India and the wider subcontinent, as well as by the Middle East. "India is the next big thing for us and there are some frightening statistics," he says. "For instance, just 3 per cent of Indian retail spend is in malls, the rest is still on street markets. I've been speaking to someone who wants to put us in 20 malls over there."
He sees increasing opportunities in the Gulf States, most notably in Abu Dhabi. Is he worried about where demand will come from? "Oh I think it's only just starting out there," he says. "Look at Dubai. There is a huge latent demand for western-style developments."
Cartledge is making sure he puts Benoy in prime position to benefit. "I deliberately take on this wider ambassadorial role; I consciously travel the world looking for the next big deal," he says. "I like to get to know company chairmen or governments very well and the only way you are going to do that is by meeting them regularly. My skill is in identifying opportunities out there. Besides, I would get bored if I was here in Newark all the time."
So what is the secret? Just what is it that the firm can bring to a deal? "It's quite simple really, it's all about innovative designs, but using them on a commercial basis," he says. "Creative but commercial, that's our mantra. We get the job done and we deliver."
With Benoy now one of the big three UK players in its market it is hard to punch holes in this mantra. This year Cartledge says the firm will turn over £320m. "In a few years we could reach £330m," he adds.
So will he sell again? He could get a few more than £34m now. "Oh undoubtedly," he says. "The brand itself is worth a few quid. You would have to pay Saatchi and Saatchi £31m to come up with a name like ours. Do people regularly ring me up wanting to buy me? Yes. I've had plcs interested too, but I'm quite happy running it as privately as I do at the moment. We are not constrained each year to increase profits to make some kind of City statement."
Perhaps another buyout then by young guns rising through the ranks? "I guess there are those who might want to buy me out but they might not be able to afford to," he says. "Joking aside, our brand locks people in. The stronger the brand the more I can be overseas. Our team want to be part of our success."
But keeping that young talent within the confines of the present ownership structure could yet create issues. Simply by working for Benoy that talent also becomes attractive to other employers.
Still, Cartledge gives the impression that he has the energy to go on as long as his body allows. "I'm 60 next year. My biggest regret is that I'm not 40," he says. The young guns may have to wait
Such a languid pace of life seems completely at odds with Graham Cartledge's business. Here is a man who has built a provincial architectural practice into one of the biggest players in the world, a business that is helping reshape cities across the globe. Yet it's all being masterminded right here from Newark.
On entering Benoy's Northgate offices, an imposing detached Victorian pile in the heart of the town, one is met by a cacophony of noise from the floors above. Within minutes of announcing my arrival I hear a particularly booming voice matched by bounding footsteps coming from way up high. "That's him, he's on his way now," remarks the receptionist, who clearly knows the sound of her boss from an impressive distance. What might seem a throwaway comment actually speaks volumes. When Cartledge is in residence and not travelling the world you can be sure staff know about it too.
Within minutes of greeting me Cartledge reveals that he only got back in the early hours from Abu Dhabi. "Flight was diverted via Gatwick and I only got in about 2 am," he moans. Even so he remains remarkably chirpy over lunch. Even the heat doesn't pose a problem. "Oh it was getting on for 50 degrees out there. This is nothing," he says.
Before we set off for lunch at Cafe Bleu a few yards further down the high street, Cartledge is keen to show me around. Whisking me upstairs past boxes of computers he says: "Sorry, we're having a bit of a refurb." Aside from the boxes I'm struck by the youthfulness of the office. Two large rooms are full of what look to be late 20-somethings, all glued to computer screens that show
eye-catching designs. As Cartledge later remarks: "We are a young team here. Bright young people are keen to join us here. They buy in to the brand."
Eventually we stumble into the boardroom and, with its heavy door closed shut, peace descends. It's time to catch up on the Benoy story. Unprompted, Cartledge rattles off a complex history, a history that really sprang to life when he bought into the business on the retirement of its founder in the early 1980s. "From day one I knew we never had to let distance and location be a disadvantage. London is only 80 minutes on the train from here and we had to ensure we were on the first train in the morning and last train back if that was what it took to get the work," he says.
That readiness to mix with the big boys in the capital soon caught the eye, leading to an offer Cartledge couldn't refuse from international design group Fitch in 1987. "They bought us for £34m. I suppose it was too good a deal to turn down," he says. But although he says being owned by Fitch was important and helped the firm "understand London", the deal didn't work and Cartledge was soon itching to get back in full control.
"Initially I was lined up to be part of a consortium but then decided I wanted go it alone and just buy it back myself. I annoyed a lot of people in the process but I won and got it back for £3600,000. What a great deal that was," he says.
Cartledge is still proud of this raid and shows me two pictures on the wall. One is of him signing the deal with Fitch; the other shows him in front of his workforce in the car park after completing the buyout in 1992. "I ended up sacking half of them the day after," he quips, "but they were all back on the payroll in nine months." The business hasn't looked back.
As we walk to lunch Cartledge talks me through the firm's big breakthrough, its contract to design the Bluewater shopping complex in Kent. How did he win it? "Oh, like all these things it was all a bit by chance really," he say. "It sprang out of a chance meeting at a cocktail party in London. It turned out I knew all the key players and was invited to tender. We ended up doubling the size of the firm to do the deal. Yes, it was risky, but it was a risk worth taking."
Beating off competition for a landmark scheme in the backyard of London's property mafia proved hugely symbolic for Benoy. Although its core operations were still in Newark, it had opened an office in London to meet growing demand (today it employs more in London than Newark). Overnight the deal turned Benoy from a provincial firm into a national one with a reputation in urban design and shopping centres. And the business could confidently stride into other cities. In Manchester it would do the masterplanning for the city centre after the IRA bomb. In Birmingham it would go on to help reshape Bullring.
Cartledge saw no reason to stop at Dover. Soon he was marching onto the Continent, winning contracts in a host of European cities. "We followed the project, then moved on. It would have been pointless to have opened a flashy new office in every capital city," he says. Simultaneously he began laying firm foundations in the Far East out of Hong Kong. That move put Benoy in a prime position for the burgeoning Chinese market. "Hong Kong developers were starting to move into China in a serious way and realised we might start getting pitches," he says. "At this time agents like CBRE were already out there and they encouraged us to pitch for business."
But he admits to having had "mixed results" in China, although he won't go into specifics. Instead he is visibly excited by the firm's prospects for India and the wider subcontinent, as well as by the Middle East. "India is the next big thing for us and there are some frightening statistics," he says. "For instance, just 3 per cent of Indian retail spend is in malls, the rest is still on street markets. I've been speaking to someone who wants to put us in 20 malls over there."
He sees increasing opportunities in the Gulf States, most notably in Abu Dhabi. Is he worried about where demand will come from? "Oh I think it's only just starting out there," he says. "Look at Dubai. There is a huge latent demand for western-style developments."
Cartledge is making sure he puts Benoy in prime position to benefit. "I deliberately take on this wider ambassadorial role; I consciously travel the world looking for the next big deal," he says. "I like to get to know company chairmen or governments very well and the only way you are going to do that is by meeting them regularly. My skill is in identifying opportunities out there. Besides, I would get bored if I was here in Newark all the time."
So what is the secret? Just what is it that the firm can bring to a deal? "It's quite simple really, it's all about innovative designs, but using them on a commercial basis," he says. "Creative but commercial, that's our mantra. We get the job done and we deliver."
With Benoy now one of the big three UK players in its market it is hard to punch holes in this mantra. This year Cartledge says the firm will turn over £320m. "In a few years we could reach £330m," he adds.
So will he sell again? He could get a few more than £34m now. "Oh undoubtedly," he says. "The brand itself is worth a few quid. You would have to pay Saatchi and Saatchi £31m to come up with a name like ours. Do people regularly ring me up wanting to buy me? Yes. I've had plcs interested too, but I'm quite happy running it as privately as I do at the moment. We are not constrained each year to increase profits to make some kind of City statement."
Perhaps another buyout then by young guns rising through the ranks? "I guess there are those who might want to buy me out but they might not be able to afford to," he says. "Joking aside, our brand locks people in. The stronger the brand the more I can be overseas. Our team want to be part of our success."
But keeping that young talent within the confines of the present ownership structure could yet create issues. Simply by working for Benoy that talent also becomes attractive to other employers.
Still, Cartledge gives the impression that he has the energy to go on as long as his body allows. "I'm 60 next year. My biggest regret is that I'm not 40," he says. The young guns may have to wait