A North East business whose world-leading equipment is used by TV companies on global events has paid tribute to its founder after his death at the end of last year.
Canford Audio, which is based in Washington, said its founder and chief executive Iain Elliott “will be sadly missed by every member of the Canford team and industry friends, as marked by the sheer volume of heartfelt condolences received from around the world.”
Mr Elliott, who founded Canford in 1974, died at the end of 2021 and the company has outlined its debt to him in its latest accounts, which reveal rising turnover and profit.
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Canford - which passed control to an employee ownership trust in 2019 - recorded turnover of £14.7m for the year ending October 31 2021, a 3% increase on the previous period. Operating profit was nearly £1m, having been just over £750,000 a year earlier.
It added that Mr Elliott had handed over responsibility for running the company to a younger generation of board members and senior executives following the move to the employee trust, and had every confidence in the management team to carry on.
Acting CEO Alan Wilson said: “The commitment from our team has been impressive. This has ensured Canford overcame the challenges brought about by Coronavirus and the subsequent lockdowns which had a devastating effect on many of our customers.
“We have seen a fantastic start to the first quarter of 2021/22 and this has allowed us to expand with appointments throughout sales and production. We have also invested heavily in our stocks for fibre termination to stay ahead of increasing demand as the live events, touring and broadcast markets continue to recover.”
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Canford specialises in the manufacturing and sale of professional audio equipment, including cables used for high definition premium live broadcasts. Its equipment was used in the live broadcast from various European stadiums during the delayed Euro 2020 football tournament, which broadcast to an estimated audience of 4.7bn viewers.
The company has sites in Dorset, France and Dubai as well the North East, and employs around 130 people.
In the accounts, Canford said it made a small loss in the first quarter of the year, but was profitable in each quarter after that.
Due to the impact of the pandemic, it suspended payments from profits due to be made to former shareholders as part of the switch to the employee ownership trust. It expects those payments to resume this year.
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