A Perthshire shed manufacturer has been named best family business at a national awards ceremony in London.
Gillies and Mackay was named as the winner of the legacy award at the 2024 Small Awards, held at St Marys.
John Mackay and Grant Gillies founded the Errol business in 1989 and is now run by John’s daughter and chief executive Cara Mackay.
Honour is reward for ‘top quality’ staff and products
Cara said the honour was well-deserved for the Gillies and Mackay staff as well as the sheds they build.
She said: “Even just being recognised and nominated, giving us the chance to attend the ceremony — it was a big deal.
“Then of course, we win the legacy award. It’s a big achievement which also shows our hard work is being noticed.
“I’m the second generation of family involved, and now we’re in the process of the third generation joining up too.”
The Small Awards, now in its eighth year, aims to “inspire and accelerate the nation’s five-and-a-half million small firms”.
Gillies and Mackay has 21 staff members and, with a £2 million turnover reported, the only way is up, according to Cara.
She added: “You don’t get figures like that without a high quality product and service.
“I’ve been involved for around 30 years now and to help it grow into what it’s become is huge.
“We believe in our purpose, and it shows in the quality and care we put into every
garden building we create.
“Being a family business means you might not see the end of your dedication. Gillies and Mackay is so much more than just a business.
“Award wins like this certainly help in proving so.”
At the UK Business Awards 2023, Gillies and Mackay was named as the best business leader in manufacturing.
What’s next for Gillies and Mackay after legacy award win?
Cara said the business is always looking to the future and is at an “exciting” stage with a number of developments.
She said: “We’ve recently changed our products including our garden rooms, because we believe in offering the best.
“We want our customers to be able to put their trust in us to deliver a top quality service.
“There are other ongoing projects as well. We’re in the process of seeing how viable exporting to England is as people there seem to love our sheds.
“Once we find out how plausible it is, why shouldn’t we look at Europe? Why shouldn’t we look at taking over the world of sheds?”
Conversation