JOHN DENNIS COACHBUILDERS

Sector: Manufacturing

Location: Guildford, Surrey

Contact: David Dring , Director

Roffe Swayne Partner: Sharon Ward

 

John Dennis Coachbuilders is a modern day “phoenix rising from the ashes”.   In 1985 Hestair Dennis was having troubled times and made deep cuts in its activities to just a core business which excluded coach building.  A triumvirate of Bill Gunner, Bert Forrest and John Dennis (grandson of one of the original Dennis brothers) headed a group of a dozen ex-employees who pooled their redundancy money to set up a new company, John Dennis Coachbuilders.

 

Their first customer was Staffordshire Fire Brigade which had faith in the fledgling company.  Within five years the enterprise had outgrown its Merrow garage and moved to the current purpose-built factory north of Guildford. 

 

In 2001 the Roffe Swayne team worked with the original founders to find a new owner for the company who would care about the business and continue to grow the company.  Today the business is run by Alan McClafferty.

 

To supplement the static fire market, the company won a four-year contract to manufacture up to two thousand USAR modules in 2003 for the New Dimension project of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.  This was followed by the community bus launch in 2005. 

 

The company has continued to make steady growth year after year and looks forward to further products and expansion in the years to come.

 

Roffe Swayne have been working closely with John Dennis Coachbuilders since 1987. Since that time they have acted as a sounding board for the organisation as they have expanded and extended the business. They have given advice in a general business consultancy role and as financial advisors, which has included tax planning, compliance services and general problem solving. The service provided is based on a thorough knowledge of the business and the individuals concerned.

 

More information on John Dennis Coachbuilders can be found on their website.

 

3 July 2009 - "100% increase in vehicle workforce" - click HERE to link to latest news about John Dennis Coachbuilders.