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7Formation
the Coast Guard has been a particularly great customer for us in recent years . We must maintain a healthy balance of projects to ensure the stability of the business , especially with retail being dependent on the state of the economy ; when the economy is struggling , consumers don ’ t spend as much money , and retailers are therefore more cautious to invest in infrastructure .”
On more of a personal note , Jon reflects : “ I joined in 2022 to replace one of the founders upon his retirement . I came in from a completely non construction background ; I was previously a founding member and director of a software company . As most of the company ’ s customer base was doctors ’ surgeries , the business struggled when the pandemic hit , and it never really recovered .
“ I decided to move on , and I was introduced to our current Managing Director , Jak Garner . I was enthused by 7formation ’ s ethos . I instantly recognised that the company ’ s culture was fostered by the large amount of very talented , enthusiastic people . So , I came onboard and spent six months working alongside my predecessor , which was invaluable in teaching me about the role and the wider market .”
facades , extensions , gabion walls , and we even recently built a new Co-Op supermarket entirely from the ground up .
“ The backbone of the business is all kinds of retail outlets , with many of our customers being retail chains , such as DFS , Frasers Group , Next , and Adidas ,” he says . “ We ’ ve always worked on hotels too , and we ’ re starting to complete office or warehousing projects , as well as some residential work for landlords .
“ However , we ’ re currently focusing our efforts on strengthening our presence in the public sector . We ’ ve completed projects in schools for local councils , for instance , and
Sustainable solutions
As talk turns to the construction sector at large , Jon uses insights from a recent roundtable he attended ahead of the UK ’ s general election [ at time of writing ]. “ Both Jak and I are interested in the wider market ,” he states . “ One of the industry ’ s biggest issues is around planning , with a recent study showing the amount of time taken between planning and starting on site has increased by 50 per cent since 2019 .
“ At 7formation , we embrace American football coach , Vince Lombardi ’ s statement that ‘ we never lose , we just run out of time ’; we rarely lose a job or a client , but we ’ re often forced to push things back due to delays at the planning stages . ccemagazine . com 55