Company Focus: Fox Electrical Contracts Ltd

At Dean Swift, we love a good news story, we love to watch businesses grow and we love to collaborate with the companies who are based here. Where Fox Electrical is concerned, we’ve seen the perfect amalgamation of all of these elements. We’re proud to have played a part in what has become a large-scale electrical business with jobs spanning the UK and Ireland as a whole.

In quite a unique tale, Fox Electrical has recently outgrown its space in the Dean Swift building and relocated across the car park to a bespoke building renovated specifically for their needs. We’re all about tailoring solutions to fit the needs of the businesses that operate here and were keen to hold on to one of our longest serving tenants.

One of our very first tenants, Mark Fox, owner and founder of Fox Electrical Contracts, explains their story.

Tell me a bit about your business

Fox Electrical specialises in electrical contracts and we work mainly across the island of Ireland, as well as servicing contracts across the UK. Our business is focused on large-scale commercial electrical installations, mainly for large hotel chains. We currently fit out around 2,000 hotel rooms per year. We also work on refurbishments and extensions as well as a lot of bars and restaurants.

Fox Electrical has been running for 18 years and we’ve gone from a small operation sub-contracting work out to other contractors to a full-scale operation that services full electrical and mechanical contracts. Our team has grown to about 50 members in total including our staff, sub-contractors and specialists. We have 8 office staff based here in Armagh.

How long have you been a tenant of Dean Swift?

We were of the first tenants here and moved in around four and a half years ago. We have definitely seen a lot of change here since we first joined and it has been great to watch so many companies move in here and flourish.

How long was the process between enquiring and moving in?

We enquired about the building and had moved in within three weeks. It was a risk in those early stages to commit to office space but we’re so glad we did! We actually helped to fit out the electrics during the upgrade of the remaining part of the building so it felt like we were very much a part of the Dean Swift story, and that continues to be the case today.

Why did you make the move into a shared workspace environment?

For me the connectivity was a key selling point. The building here was ready to go and the office was kitted out with desks and chairs, phones and broadband – so it meant a lot to be able to move in right away. In a business like ours there is no time to wait. If a big job lands for us today it needs to be acted on tomorrow; we had no time to wait around for an office to be fitted out otherwise we could have lost out on major contracts while we waited for a building to be ready.

Another big advantage was having the bills all brought into one single rental agreement – it just made the whole process very streamlined and straightforward for us, and left our own admin much simpler.

Why did the Dean Swift building appeal to you?

We had looked at other business parks in the area and found them to be unsuitable, either because of a lack of space that appealed to us, or because of a lack of parking facilities. We needed to know we had a space suitable for the deliveries we have coming in frequently and somewhere we could park vans etc.

We saw great potential here and really felt that we could be a part of something fresh and innovative in this area.

Why did the location appeal?

I’m from the wider Armagh area and felt Armagh city itself was a good base for our business. With the majority of our jobs being either Belfast or Dublin it is a central location that is accessible to both these major cities.  The Hamiltonsbawn Road location gives direct access onto the Newry Road and Portadown Road, meaning we can be Dublin or Belfast bound very quickly without having to go across town.

We were mindful of choosing a location that would appeal to staff also. If we were expecting people to travel to Belfast and Dublin then a premises even an additional 20 minutes away could leave this journey unappealing to a lot of people.

How would you describe the premises?

The building is modern, clean and bright – a very impressive space indeed. The facilities are very good and the perks are everything you could ever ask for – between the changing and shower facilities to discounted gym membership for the on-site gym, we really are well provided for here.  For us it was head and shoulders above anything else we viewed in the area, and it has continually improved since then.

Your experience here has differed from some of the other tenants – tell us a little about your expansion and how you came to move into your new premises?

Our business has grown steadily since we moved to Dean Swift and initially as we grew we were able to relocate to other offices within the building, which was a really seamless transition. At one stage we were working across two units and eventually we decided we had outgrown our premises and told the owners of our predicament. Instead of wishing us luck and watching us move out of the building, the owners worked with us to provide a bespoke solution, by renovating a vacant building on the same site and fitting it out in a way which was tailored specifically for our needs.

Because we were able to do a lot of the work ourselves the whole job only took around 6 weeks so we were very quickly able to transition into our new home. We have a great set-up here with a trade counter in operation for our staff to come in and collect exactly what they need for each job without having to rely on external suppliers. There’s potential here for us to have this in operation for public use also. Around the back of the premises we have facilities for goods out and pallet entries so it is ideal for us.

We’re currently operating the ground floor of this building only, but at the rate we are growing there is potential to expand into the floor above and possibly provide accommodation for some of our sister companies also.

What has your experience been since signing up with Dean Swift?

Our experience here has been so positive from Day One. The owners here are very understanding to our business needs. They have listened to our growth pains and have worked with us to provide solutions for our business. We have enjoyed flexibility to progress our own ideas and we have been delighted with what we have been able to bring to the table in terms of the upgrade of these buildings also.

The business community operating here is so vibrant and positive and the majority of companies have engaged with each other in business at some stage – it is great how we have all helped each other to grow and develop.

The maintenance of the park is second to none and we know any issues can be resolved by just a phone call, so the piece of mind in that alone is invaluable.

What is the greatest positive about Dean Swift in your experience?

For us the location is probably the most positive thing. Geographically it is perfect and the site itself provides everything we need in terms of parking and access for deliveries and our own staff. Enjoying the proximity to the town without the traffic and parking stresses is ideal.

Added to this is the sense of community and collaboration we have established here. We’ve really enjoyed the Dean Swift story to date and are excited to see where it goes in future!