TAKING A FRESH APPROACH AND WITH A SOLID FINANCIAL FOUNDATION, MIDAS RETAIL IS LOOKING POSITIVELY AT THE YEAR AHEAD. BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR PAUL COOMBE TALKS TO RLI ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF STRONG CLIENT RELATIONSHIPS AND INVESTING IN THE FUTURE

One of the UK’s largest independent construction and property services providers, Midas is a privately-owned and financially secure business based in Bristol. With ten strategically placed offices throughout the UK, the company boasts over 30 years experience and a turnover in 2009 of £240M.

The company recently rebranded and now has five individual, sector-focused national businesses – Construction, Retail, Interiors, Development and Affordable Housing – delivering a wide range of property services. Its philosophy of forming strong, qualified teams in each of the strategically situated regional offices, with experienced leadership, ensures for clients all the benefits of a local contractor, but backed by the resources of a major national company.
“We are a values-driven business, passionate about delivering first-class service and innovative products regularly to our long-term customer base, whilst always striving to exceed our customer’s expectations,” says Paul Coombe, Business Development Director, Midas Retail.

The company undertakes projects on a design and build, traditional and partnering basis ranging between £100k and £25M, providing fast-track shopfitting and construction solutions to the retail, leisure and hospitality sectors.
Of course, for any business, the past 12-18 months have been a challenging time – buts it’s not all doom and gloom; Midas’ turnover in 2009 was up 12 per cent.

“Having grown our business organically and not by acquisition, we don’t carry the borrowings of some of our peers, making us solid and financially strong and dependable in these uncertain times,” comments Coombe.
“In the run up to the recession, the market was overheating, but ‘taking a breath’ has given us the opportunity to tell the marketplace what we’ve been up to, the experience we have and how our capability could help them achieve their goals,” he says.
Consistently high level of repeat business, a focus on core skills and values, investment at board level and diversification are all factors that have contributed to the company’s continued good fortune.

“We’ve focused on active sectors,” continues Coombe. “Our strength in food retail saw us through the last recession and has served us well, as fashion and homewares store development has plummeted. Despite the recession, leisure and hotel operators have been active, and we’re delighted with the high-profile projects we’ve delivered.”
Midas is currently working with Waitrose on the development of the retailer’s new stores, building upon a relationship that has developed over the past six years, during which time Midas has delivered seven fast-track conversions across the UK; the
company has also been instrumental in helping Waitrose to develop its sustainable construction. It has also completed four new stores for Wm Morrison, at Dover and Welling in Kent and two in central London, with two new projects just commenced.
“It’s a real pleasure to work with Midas Retail; it is great to know you are dealing with a quality, professional outfit that doesn’t think it is another construction project. Midas are a credit to us as a client, they understand our vision, our company and our customers,” says Senior Project Manager David Kistell.
Midas has also been working on a multiple store roll-out for The Co-operative, having already notched up 50 projects to date with a further 50 for 2010.
“We have diversified further into the leisure sector,” says Coombe, “continuing our work on the rebranding of McDonalds restaurants, including a number of extensions, and we are also working on a new project for Rick Stein in Cornwall, following an extension to the Seafood Restaurant, and a further project at the The Hotel & Extreme Academy, Watergate Bay and the Jamie Oliver inspired restaurant, Fifteen Cornwall.”

For the full article please see the RLI February 2010 issue