Ensuring stability and growth in a turbulent economy
John Webber, Caxton Group Founder and Chairman tells us how the business is navigating the current economic climate and how diversification and teamwork will continue to be the key to success in 2023 and beyond.
What is the outlook for Caxton Group in 2023?
The good news is that currently we are still in a busy period. We have a healthy order book across all businesses which takes us well into 2024. The issue that we face in 2023 is the turbulent economic climate, which could cause a downturn in the industry. But we are optimistic the market will continue to be buoyant. Currently there is enough work and enough labour around to ride the storm well into 2024 when economists predict recovery. We remain positive, we are still winning work and will continue to do so.
How do you manage fixed pricing in such a turbulent period?
With an order book well into 2024, anything we price now is for 2024 and beyond. When there is so much movement in interest rates, labour cost and cost of materials (we have seen an increase in material costs of over 28%), a fixed price contract over a prolonged period is the biggest challenge in our industry. We continually try to get the balance right, so the most important thing for us is to competitively price ourselves in the market whilst retaining the required margin.
Are you still experiencing the ongoing impact of COVID-19?
As a business we continued to work throughout the pandemic and we are doing our best to put that period behind us and focus on the future. We are still seeing some delays on materials but everyone in the industry is in the same position, so the main thing is ensuring we are open and honest with our clients.
The pandemic has created new cultures and habits. As a business it is important we move with the times so from April 2023 we are introducing a flexible working hours trial. In our business working at home five-day weeks would not work for us, its not conducive to our way of working as we achieve so much working together as a team and learning from each other. We share ideas and come up with solutions together – many challenges are overcome in our friendly and open environment.
How do you ensure growth and stability during the current economic climate?
I would say it is diversification. We took the strategic decision to split into three separate businesses; Caxton Builders, Caxton Façades, and Caxton Joinery, so we spread any risk. We also expanded our teams; we brought in a number of senior people with a wealth of industry knowledge and experience. In 2022 we recruited Ian Knight Commercial Director, Caxton Builders, and Scott Millington, Operations Director, Caxton Façades. They joined our strong management team and I have complete trust in their leadership.
What is your focus in 2023?
Our focus is to continue to run as a family business and retain our culture. For 16 years we have worked hard to build this business and year on year we continue to grow. The reason for that is our team. People work hard, enjoy coming to work and are rewarded for their hard work and commitment. We will continue to grow each team, recruiting quality people and focus on retaining an exceptional level of customer service. We are all looking forward to the year ahead.”
