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HOS LANDSCAPES HOS LANDSCAPES IS ALREADY MAKING A NAME FOR ITSELF, BUT AFTER SIX YEARS, MANAGING DIRECTOR BEN STEIN IS EAGER TO TAKE THE LONDON-BASED CONTRACTOR TO THE NEXT LEVEL
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OS Landscapes is gearing up for change. Managing director Ben Stein has kickstarted a plan for growth, bringing in a new co-director to help decide the future ambitions of the six-year-old company in a smart and sustainable fashion. While some of these plans might still be in their formative stages, don’t be fooled into thinking it’s all talk – once Ben sets his mind to something, he’s apt to achieve it.
BEN STEIN Ben first set up HOS Landscapes in 2015. He’d been working in the city as a music promoter and artist manager but felt the pull to work outdoors, having grown up “looking out onto the marsh on the north Norfolk coast”. With a garden designer for a mother, it might
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come as a surprise that Ben didn’t venture into horticulture sooner – he’d always had an interest in plants and wildlife. But he resisted this career path, instead going to study anthropology at Durham University, which boasts one of the largest anthropology departments in the UK. “I then found myself in London, working at some great and varied jobs, but I was always on a laptop and always working for other people,” says Ben. “Then I realised I had this amazing set of skills that I could call upon in working with my mum initially – she could fill in any of the gaps in my skill base and plant knowledge.” So, he founded his own garden maintenance company with a friend, taking on local jobs around Haringey. “We were originally called The Relentless Gardeners, but this was rather self-fulfilling, so we renamed the business HOS Landscapes; HOS is short for Hooton, Oza and Stein, the names of my nearest and dearest.” This wasn’t the only change. As the company grew, the need to offer a hard landscaping service became apparent to the point that the company now solely offers landscape construction. “We’ve found that by concentrating on build we are able to specialise in this. There are plenty of maintenance specialists out there and we put clients in touch with them all the time. Never say never, but for now, I think it would muddy the water and be a distraction to offer maintenance again. We’d
rather continue to get better and justify our position in the industry from a build perspective.” This switch to construction was largely possible thanks to a growing team with a variety
of skillsets, says Ben. “Every new person that came to join the company was better than my co-founder and me, so we were only ever getting better and going in the right direction as we brought people on board. Without a good team with complementary skills, you’re not going anywhere. Not every person who’s joined the team has come from landscaping; some are from construction or boat building, for instance. All bring their own unique approach to situations and to projects. I’d never rule out anybody from a different background because, ultimately, I’m from a different background.” From two friends carrying out maintenance, HOS Landscapes has grown to three main teams of three, operating under site foremen and with
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19/08/2021 09:09