Brian Yeardley Continental is celebrating record results in the first quarter of this year, just months after completing a management buyout, with revenue rising 17%, compared to the same quarter in 2023, according to MD Kevin Hopper.
The company, which has its headquarters in Featherstone, West Yorkshire, employs around 100 staff and runs a fleet of around 70 trucks and 115 trailers. It operates CARGOBY, its general cargo division, and TRUCKINGBY, its live and corporate events division, which works with some of the largest bands in the world. As well as its HQ in Featherstone, the company also has an office and warehouse in Ashford, Kent.
In October last year, the board concluded a management buyout. The deal left Hopper and his wife Sarah with an 80% share of the business, with the remaining 20% shared between financial director Damien Sharpe, general cargo manager Jordan Potts, import and export manager Martin Harwood, events office manager Melissa Ness, and live events co-ordinator Shaun Wood.
Speaking to MT, Hopper said the MBO had turbocharged the business. “The MBO is the best thing that ever happened to the business. Cash flow has never been so good and we’ve had the best ever first quarter of the year, with profit up 17%, year-on-year,” he said. “The event division is a million pound ahead of budget at the minute which is brilliant. General cargo is also doing well, picking up some really good, high value, general cargo business, both import and export.”
Hopper said the MBO had brought a new perspective to the business. “I and the management are really looking forward to the future. Our youngest board member is 30 years old and if you take me and Sarah out the equation, the oldest of the 20% shareholders is 40 years old.
“They’re so enthusiastic about the business. They want to take it in so many new directions, and they’re so good with the clients.So we now have sustainability and longevity in the business and we are winning new accounts all the time and taking them off some major players in the business. So we’re all really looking forward to the future.”
Hopper was speaking to MT following the recent publication oif its latest annual results for the year to 31 December 2024. Brian Yeardley Continental reported a 15% rise in turnover to £16.4m (2023: £14.2m). However pre-tax profit fell to £29,244, down from £51,953 in the previous year, which Hopper said was largely due to costs associated with the MBO.
In its strategic report to the results, the company said “challenging” market conditions in 2024 “continued the trend we saw in 2023 and is very much a return to some form of normality after 2022, where demand outstripped supply and trucks, trailers and driver availability were at a premium”.
Despite these challenges the company continued to invest “significantly” in sales and marketing, the report said, adding that this yielded results that “far exceeded expectations”, prompting the creation of dedicated sales and marketing teams to promote and grow new and existing client relationships.
Turning to its general cargo division, the report said that despite the “ultra-competitive” UK and European cargo market, the division had grown markedly with the sales team landing “some significant wins in 2024” with existing and new clients.
The report also hailed the “resounding” success of TRUCKINGBY in 2024, which saw the division’s turnover grow to £6.6m (2023: £5.8m) which the company said was “a great achievement given the challenges and market conditions that existed” during the year.
The company attributed this growth to targeted marketing, high customer service and satisfaction levels, and competitive pricing, adding that the strategy had seen the division retain “significant” levels of work and tours from new clients, providing “further evidence of the growing reputation this business now has within the live events and corporate sector.”
In conclusion the report said: “The business going forward is in as strong a position now as it ever has been - the conclusion of the MBO was crucial and has allowed all to re-focus and concentrate their efforts; 2024 whilst not without its challenges has again shown that the business remains robust and adaptable to the ever-changing market and geopclitical landscape in which it operates.
“It is testament to the staff, who are the driving force of the business, that we have taken on these challenges head on and can look back on 2024 as a successful year.”
Commenting on the results, Hopper added: “Our major cost in 2024 was the MBO and that did affect our profitability but we actually had a decent year, despite it being a challenging year, with growth in both our cargo and events divisions.
“We manged to pick up a lot of good business over those 12 months and now, following the MBO, we are really doing well and looking forward to the future.”
