Acquiring Success: 2023's New Appointments

Never the ones to be complacent, The SDDE Smith Group have got ambitious plans to bring in the next level of growth – something they’re well on their way to achieving thanks to some recent big appointments.

2023 New Appointments

The SDDE Smith Group are making their intentions for continued growth very clear with the appointment of six new senior roles in the business. 

The Group is ambitious about their goals: “We have seen fantastic growth across the last few years, with revenue growing more than seven times from £2 million in 2020 to £15 million in 2022, but in order to keep that pace and drive towards nine figure annual revenues, it is essential that we continue to develop our leadership structure and bring knowledge and experience into the Group. Our latest senior appointments do exactly that." says Dale Smith, CEO of The SDDE Smith Group.

The Group has already made some big moves since its inception in 2017, and now employs more than 300 colleagues, predominantly in the North East of England. In September 2022 the Group made its first acquisition when it acquired Cochranes Law Firm to become part of the Group’s Grey-Smith Legal brand, and already in 2023 the Group has acquired ResiCentral, a property technology business, and is soon to complete on the acquisition of a Teesside based Estate Agency business. 

However, it’s not just the additional companies they are acquiring, they are acquiring the very best talent to take The SDDE Smith Group to the next level.

Gary Wood has been appointed as Chief Operating Officer for The SDDE Smith Group, bringing more than 10 years experience in senior management roles within the construction industry. His expertise will be put to good use as he oversees all operational aspects of the business, from strategic planning and implementation to project management and delivery.

Gary’s enthusiasm towards the Group is undeniable: “My goal is to improve and develop the groups operational strategies and performance across the board whilst supporting our brands and individuals to collaborate and thrive together! This authenticates our all encompassing approach as we strive to push boundaries to create better places to live work and stay.”

Gary has successfully led WOODSmith Construction Group from start-up in March 2021 to £5 million turnover in its second year of operation, and is now expecting to exceed £10 million in revenue across 2023. Gary’s passion and relentless operational drive have been one of the key factors in WOODSmith Construction’s rapid growth, and he now brings those same qualities to his Group role.

Ben Duncan has been appointed as Commercial Director, of Host & Stay, focusing on the expansion and growth of the Host and Stay's  integrated services. Ben joined The SDDE Smith Group in 2018 as Finance Director, and he brings extensive commercial and financial experience to the role, which will be invaluable in growing the Host & Stay portfolio to over 1,500 holiday homes across 2023. Ben has overseen the development of the group's central finance function which has been established to support the rapidly growing business, and has been instrumental in the development of the group’s ESG Strategy across 2022.

Ryan McKnight – People & Places Director

Ryan McKnight's extensive knowledge and success in the Football industry might just make him the signing of the season! Ryan joins The SDDE Smith Group as People & Place Director, overseeing the People Department, the Group’s ESG strategy, and the new StayLocal project. He also remains as Redcar Athletic FC'S Managing Director.

Having ran the trade publication for the UK Football Industry, FCBusiness, as Editor-in-Chief for 7 years Ryan went on to work in and lead a number of football league sides, co-founded leading private academy 'NEFA' and has retained his own Football industry research consultancy where he is a leading figure in the field of fandom. "I'm over the moon to be joining Dale and the rest of the team at the SDDE Group as People and Places Director.” says Ryan. 

He continues: "Now in my twentieth year in football I have had the great privilege to spend time understanding both people and place (which is the core function of any club) and I'm looking forward to bringing that knowledge into the group alongside the exciting project we are launching Redcar Athletic.”

Ryan’s unique attribute is his deep experience of both the playing and non-playing aspects of the game; and how those aspects have a real and sometimes life changing impact on the people, places and communities that surround it. Those qualities tie back to the core of what The SDDE Smith Group stands for, and that is in creating better places for people to live, better places for people to work, and better places for people to stay.  

James Baird joins the Group as Chief Technology Officer and Managing Director of ResiCentral.

Leading the technology arm of the Group, and driving to be continually 'working smarter' - an ethos founded on the principles of adopting efficient and effective working practices within the business and extending them outwards to help each and every client work more efficiently, too.

James' passion is customer service and he leads by example, instilling the strong service values that set The SDDE Smith Group apart from others in the industry throughout the team. Strong client relationships are the Group's hallmark, and James is committed to combining traditional customer service values with the latest technological innovations, so that every Group customer receives only the very best solutions and support. 

Reece Ingham - Group Financial Controller

Durham based Reece Ingham, joins the Group as Group Financial Controller. Equipped with a wealth of experience, Reece describes himself as a passionate, professional, and commercially-minded accountant. “I’m really excited to get started building the controls and processes of the business from that of a small family run group to that of a large corporation, fit to list on the stock exchange.”  

He adds: “There are a huge variety of people from different backgrounds and experiences across our group of companies, and I’m looking forward to rallying together and achieving our goals as a group-wide team.” Reece’s past successes have come from his ability to recognise opportunity, the type of opportunities that can elevate The SDDE Smith Group to achieving their lofty ambitions.

Steve Padgett – Chief Financial Officer

Steve Padgett, comes in as Chief Financial Officer, with the Group already an established and experienced business in the North East, the appointment of Steve as CFO leads their next phase of growth. Steve is an experienced and strategic leader with a proven track record of creating value and profitability for the owners of businesses seeking significant growth. The SDDE Smith Group are not shy in their ambitions to scale and to make an impact nationally and internationally, and Steve’s appointment truly aligns with that vision.

Dale Smith, CEO of The SDDE Smith Group, reminds us that these impressive plans all circle back to reinvesting in the North East.

“We are proud of where we are from and we’re passionate about the North East which is why we are keen to continue creating opportunities here. We have seen our colleague base grow rapidly in the last three years, with local people being given opportunities to develop and progress their careers, with colleagues starting at entry level and making their way to senior leadership roles within a matter of months not years. We want to keep creating those opportunities, but we also must bring in the best experience and talent from outside of the area too, because that enables us to keep learning, to keep improving, and to keep growing the business. I’m truly excited about the journey we’re on, and it’s a great time to be a North East business.”

Furthermore, this year The SDDE Smith Group is pledging 10% of profits to support good causes across the North East with the introduction of The SDDE Smith Foundation. Rest assured their ethos to push boundaries to create better places to live, work and stay comes first in every decision made.

At the close of 2022 The SDDE Smith Group had a lot to celebrate; a three-figure percentage growth, revenue growing from just under £6m in 2021 to £15m in 2022, and employment almost doubling from 159 people to 314 group employees. Furthermore, the Group have helped communities across the North of England through their volunteering and giving back efforts with over £135,000 donated to local causes. 

2022 Annual Round-Up

At the close of 2022 The SDDE Smith Group had a lot to celebrate; a three-figure percentage growth in revenue from just under £6m in 2021 to £15m in 2022, and employment almost doubling from 159 people to 314 group employees. Furthermore, we have helped communities across the North of England through volunteering and giving back efforts with over £135,000 donated to local causes. 

The group has enjoyed another year of growth across each of the businesses, led by our CEO, Dale Smith. Dale’s achievements were recognized at the Growing Business Awards, winning ‘Young Entrepreneur of the Year’. 

Dale reflects on the win: “To even be nominated for this award was fantastic, but to win the award against a number of fantastic young entrepreneurs delivering outstanding products and services is one of the best moments of my career so far. And to have my wife Rachel, and my Mum and Dad, Diane and Shaun with me there on the night made it even more special.” 

He continues: “I could not do what I do without our unbelievable teams and leaders across the business, and so this award is by no means an individual one - it goes to all of our 300+ colleagues, and shows the dedication we all have to really making an impact, and delivering our purpose of pushing boundaries to create better places to live, work and stay. This is just the start for The SDDE Smith Group.”

Echoing Dale’s comments, the Group’s success is a result of the incredible work put in across each of the companies, let's look into each of individual businesses successes across 2022:

2022 has been an exceptional year for Host & Stay, winning Best Property Management Provider at the National Landlord Investment Show Awards, Best Leisure Property Management Company at the Shortyz Awards and Best Property Manager Northern England at the STAA Awards.

Host & Stay now boasts over 700 properties on the portfolio, year on year growth that has come from the committed work of the entire Host & Stay team. From Guest Relations, to Maintenance and Housekeeping, Host & Stay provides a best in class service to owners and guests across the North of England, and that area is set to grow.

Host & Stay’s continued success inspired Rachel Sherwood (Leicestershire) and Joel Higgins (Manchester) to become franchisees of the Host & Stay brand last year. Rachel Sherwood explains why she and her partner took the leap to become franchisees: “We have always believed in the merit of providing high quality housing so adopting the Host & Stay ethos of premium high-end properties is a good fit. What we really loved about the Host & Stay brand is the end-to-end service they provide for property owners and guests alike.”

Finally, and most notably, Host & Stay became shirt sponsors for both Middlesbrough Football Club and Sheffield Wednesday Football Club. Sponsoring a Championship club, Middlesbrough FC, brought brand recognition and promotion, however continued work has been completed with the MFC Foundation to give back to local communities. Host & Stay will be leading an Initiative with local schools which sees students in low income areas rewarded with Middlesbrough FC tickets for high attendance; keeping kids in schools where they can best prepare for their future. 

Dale Smith recognises the consistent hard work of the business: “The Host & Stay brand continued its organic growth across 2022, seeing the portfolio grow from 500 properties to just over 700, meaning the 1000 property mark is now well within our sights for 2023. We continued to grow our full management service, with our housekeeping team completing over 30,000 changeovers in the year, whilst maintaining a ‘cleanliness rating’ of 9.17. A fantastic achievement. We also welcomed two new franchise locations in the later part of the year, and we’re well positioned to expand the Host & Stay Partner scheme to more than ten locations as we head through 2023.”

2022 has been a year for accreditations and accomplishments across the board for WOODSmith Construction Group. Growth has been rapid, but it’s no fluke, it’s a perfectly measured balance of hard work, determination, and ambition. 

Unchanged from 2021, WOODSmith Construction Group continues to be committed to the health and safety of their people and maintaining excellent standards. These unwavering commitments and the hard work of the team saw them achieve their ISO9001 accreditation and the Elite level of CHAS accreditation in 2022. In addition, this year they passed the RISQS Audit, with WOODSmith meeting the health, safety, operational and competence standards necessary to work in the rail environment. 

Commercially, this year saw WOODSmith Construction achieve contract wins with Anglo American, British Steel and most recently with Story Contracting Limited on Middlesbrough Train Station. Work was also completed on the Styled Suite at Middlesbrough Football Club where WOODSmith were responsible for the renovation of the hospitality lounge. Huge clients for a construction company still in its infancy in terms of age. 

In the residential sector, WOODSmith Construction have been going from strength to strength; this year they've had their highest number of projects and their highest revenue yet. It's not just the number of projects that have increased, but also the size, completing multi-unit and large-scale renovations. Furthermore, the residential team itself continues to grow, with two new colleagues joining the team in November. 

WOODSmith’s ambition to become the North East's number one construction business was a step closer after driving revenue to £6m across 2022, up from £1.19m in 2021.

Gary Wood, Managing Director of WOODSmith Construction Group, comments: “We have achieved so much again this year as a team, and we continue to go from strength to strength. I’m excited at what the year ahead holds for us.”

Dale Smith has nothing but high praise for the business: “WOODSmith Construction Group continues to defy all reasonable expectations of such a young business.”

This year Grey-Smith Legal completed the acquisition of Cochranes Law Firm, adding offices in Stockton and Billingham, along with increasing their workforce from 11 to 27 colleagues. 

It was an impressive year for award wins; Jo Grey, Legal Director was Highly Commended in the Conveyancer of the Year category at the 2022 LEAP Modern Law Conveyancing Awards. Grey-Smith Legal were also crowned winners at the Global Business Awards taking home the Most Efficient Residential & Commercial Conveyancing Company North East England. In addition, they won at the Lawyer Monthly Legal Awards in the category of Property Law.  

Finally, Grey-Smith Legal’s hard work and customer focus can be validated by their 5* Reviews on the Solicitor Review Panel. This is a tremendous achievement for the firm and is absolute testament to Grey-Smith Legal’s tenacity, dedication, professionalism, and high level of customer service.  

Dale Smith comments: “What a year for Grey-Smith Legal and still only in its second full year of operation. Revenue has grown by over 300% year on year. The Grey-Smith Legal brand continues to build its five star reputation, providing exceptional client service, ranking 1st in Redcar & Cleveland, 7th in Teesside and 256th nationally according to Review Solicitors.” 

2022 was the year Styled Interior Design took on their biggest commercial projects to date. September saw ‘The Styled Suite’ at Middlesbrough Football Club come to life; the Styled team successfully created a bright, accommodating and modern space to enjoy events, birthdays, and top class football hospitality at The Riverside Stadium. They rounded off the year completing two impressive office renovations, one in Leeds and the other in Stokesley. 

In addition, Styled have taken on their highest number of residential projects this year, many resulting in high quality holiday homes that now feature on the Host & Stay platform. 

Finally, the entire Styled team were involved in raising over £1100 for Teesside Hospice; with Bethany, Katie, Tasmine and Jasmine completing the 38 mile walk from Saltburn to Scarborough to raise the funds. It was no easy feat! The SDDE Smith Group are proud of the team for using their volunteering day, amongst their busy work schedules, to give back to their local community. 

Katie Molnar, Senior Interior Designer, for Styled reflects on the year: “2022 has been another crazy year! We have more than doubled our team, completed our first commercial projects as a company and to top it off we already have some amazing projects in the pipeline for 2023.” 

She continues: “The team has gone from strength to strength and we can’t wait to see where we are this time next year.”

Dale Smith adds: “2022 was a year that elevated Styled Interior Designs status within the industry, raising awareness across the property investments sectors and completing its most notable project to date, the redesign and transformation of Middlesbrough Football Clubs Riverside Restaurant into the Styled Suite. The Styled team will be looking to expand on its reputation growth across 2023 and pull in a number of new commercial projects whilst continuing to deliver best in class accommodation projects across the short let sector.”

Manhatten Property had an exciting start to 2022; in January the site was picked for the new Manhatten Property office and following  a quick turn around, works were completed to renovate the office and the doors were opened to the public for the first time. 

For an estate agent in its first year, ranking number 1 on Rightmove for property detail views would be impressive. Manhatten, did that twice! From July to August, they ranked number 1, getting more attention than any other agent. Then to round off the year they achieved it again in December!

In 2022 Manhatten Property sold 19 properties with a value of £3.1 million. 

Dale Smith is unsurprisingly impressed: “The first year of operation for Manhatten Property as an estate agency and letting brand, and the business has seen respectable growth in what has been a highly contested sector in recent years.”

Dale continues: “With the housing market now starting to change direction, I think Manhatten Property is well positioned to leverage its SDDE Smith Group backing and provide a suite of services, and a level of expertise that is unrivaled by other agents.”

Dale Smith reflects on a year of progression for Costays: “2022 has seen continued brand development for CoStays as we try to establish the brand as a main player in the SA blocks, BTR and PBSA markets. As we head into 2023, the CoStays brand is well positioned to take advantage of a changing ride in the property investment market, and also looks set to now break into PBSA management. CoStays is definitely one to watch for 2023.”

As we move into 2023, The SDDE Smith Group has a number of exciting projects in the pipeline, business rebrands, partnerships with leading businesses in the local area, and the launch of our new ESG Strategy, along with the launch of The SDDE Smith Foundation which will see the group pledging 10% of profits to support people, places and the environment. 

Dale Smith commented: “The future belongs to those who are sustainable and inclusive, we are all encompassing, working with intent to address and tackle material issues. Our purpose starts with our people. We are moving towards a more sustainable future, together”

After another impressive year, and while it's hard to say what the future holds, one thing is certain: The SDDE Smith group will continue to grow and push boundaries to create better places to live, work and stay.

To keep up to date with The SDDE Smith Group and their brands visit www.sddesmithgroup.com or follow their social media. If you want to get involved or work with The SDDE Smith Group email: alex.forster@sddesmithgroup.com. 

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Acquiring Success: 2023's New Appointments

2022 Annual Round-Up