________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
been able to retain our culture throughout this growth period. We’ ve got a network of 40 offices across the UK, so we’ re a local business to many.”
While Atlas has grown rapidly in scale, its success has been rooted in a clear sense of purpose.“ Many corporate mission statements lean into what they do and how they do it, but for us, it’ s always been very much about the‘ why’,” Chris elaborates.“ Facilities management is an interesting space. What’ s exciting about being a big people business is the joy you get from creating a positive emotional impact on others. Our purpose of creating happiness, both internally and for our clients, is what really drives our performance.
“ We’ ve never chased growth for growth’ s sake. Every decision we’ ve made has been about building a stronger business rather than just a bigger one. We’ ve had a good blend of organic growth and disciplined acquisitions. From an organic growth perspective, we follow a simple formula: if you look after your people and your customers, then the commercial results follow. It shows – we’ ve got an average contract length of over ten years across our 50 largest contracts, so we’ ve been able to create strong client partnerships through multiple re-tender scenarios.
“ From an acquisition perspective, it’ s the easiest thing in the world to write a cheque, but picking the right organisations is really important,” he adds.“ We spend a lot of time with management teams, understanding the culture to see if it’ s a good fit. Through this method, we’ ve become very good at creating loyalty through our acquisitions. Our business would not be as it is today without the great people who have joined us through acquisition.”
This people-first approach to acquisitions has shaped some of Atlas’ most significant
176