Dunfermline recruitment specialist Avenue Scotland hopes maturing care and logistics divisions will help turnover climb to £20 million over the next two years.
The ambitious group, which started life in 1994 as a sole-trader consultancy established by Brechin City record goalscorer and Forfar Athletic assistant manager Ian Campbell, says it expects to see top-line income rise by a third by 2016.
Mr Campbell is celebrating two decades of trading, after adding care and logistics services to Avenue’s core recruitment offer in recent years. He is confident the newcomers can now kick-on to drive more success for his firm.
“The new businesses are smashing little businesses and are no longer fledgling,” Mr Campbell told The Courier Business.
“Turnover is not something we have ever chased and we have always wanted to be best, not necessarily the biggest.
“But the market is there. We have to fight for our place, but if we go about things properly, the business is managed well and we can keep overheads down, then we can do well.”
The successful group already turns over £15m a year, and has around 200 staff.
Its main recruitment business serves the manufacturing, engineering, oil and gas and industrial markets from a purpose-built base on the town’s Elgin Industrial Estate.
A dedicated water division was established in 2009 to serve suppliers across Scotland and the north of England.
Mr Campbell then launched Avenue Care Services in 2011, after a very personal experience in trying to establish a care service for his late mother and has is also building a successful logistics operation.
“Delivering personal care both sensitively and professionally, Avenue Care Services now supports clients across east of Scotland and it is a real growth area,” he said.
“It has not been plain sailing all the way but if something is worth doing, it’s worth doing well and we are delighted that our commitment to doing things properly here has borne fruit.”
He said his success was down to keeping both customers and staff happy.
“Things have really raced ahead over the last three or four years and I suppose that’s down to more experience and higher quality decisions,” Mr Campbell added.
“I didn’t think for a minute that we’d grow to be as big as this.
“Avenue Recruitment has always been well-established we’ve always been a solid company but in the last four years we have set up the care services, water and logistics businesses.
“It has also got a lot to do with the fact that we have got a team of people behind us and management which are very good. We’re also reaping the rewards of labour retention which is quite impressive.”
The 60-year-old, who will be familiar to many for his role at Forfar’s Station Park, also runs a consultancy operation, designed to help clients with strategic and people development, and employee productivity.
Mr Campbell admits he needs to be extremely well organised to combine his business and football life but is helped by a “fantastic chairman and directors at Forfar”.
He also confesses to a good deal of “heated debate” with twin brother and Forfar manager Dick. The duo also work together during office hours, with Dick heading up the group’s logistics arm.