A family firm of builders has struck a joint venture partnership deal with a property development business and will now create 50 new jobs.
Chris Shaw, founder and CEO of Manchester firm EveryTrade shook hands on the agreement with Liverpool business Emperor Holdings after agreeing terms with managing director Alex Riddick.
Mr Riddick began growing a portfolio in the student property market in 2016 after identifying opportunities within the HMO sector in Liverpool.
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Mr Shaw's firm has a current workforce of more than 60 - set to grow to 110 by 2023 - with a fleet of 35 vans. He said he has already invested a six-figure sum into EveryTrade over the past decade.
He changed business direction in 2008 - swapping a career in media for construction, and said EveryTrade had seized an opportunity with Emperor, having tracked the firm's growth for 12 months.
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He said: “Emperor Holdings produce award-winning schemes and occupy an enviable position in the student market. Our partnership agreement instantly enables us to grow the property development arm and will improve us further as a construction company.
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"Alex’s skills especially in the automation process of growing a property business were a major factor in striking up this partnership.”
Mr Riddick said he initially spotted Shaw on social media and was impressed with his company’s work and portfolio of clients.
Mr Shaw continued: “We’ve invested time and effort on social platforms about growing a business model using retained tradesmen, investing in office infrastructure and management, our customer service and support teams and our ‘supermarket of trades’ that includes our own architectural technicians.
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"We’ve put a lot of detail into the business strategy right down to every member of the team wearing uniform. It’s all about representing the professional face of the building industry.”
For Mr Riddick, the 50-50 partnership is a reflection of the strategy he implemented for Liverpool-based Emperor Holdings after completing his second property deal.
He said: “From that scheme onwards, my vision was to scale the business and two schemes later I met Chris.
"It was good timing because of the market opportunities and my plan like Chris’s, to remove ourselves from day-to-day site business long term.
"EveryTrade’s infrastructure was an attractive prospect too, enabling us to further evolve our property development business, initially over a five year plan through their building capacity.”