KW BELL GROUP, CINDERFORD

Established: 1965

Employee numbers: 300, plus 250 sub-contractors

Generations in the business: 3

The KW Bell group of companies includes building contractors, groundworkers, home designers and developers.

It was founded by company chairman Keith Bell and its head office is in Cinderford, in the Royal Forest of Dean.

Peter Bell is Managing Director. His daughter Nicola Bird joined the business five years ago and has comprehensively overhauled the company’s safety department.

She is also forging ahead in her business development role, creating the company’s apprenticeship schemes and developing its South West Construction Education Centre.

“We have invested £2.5 million in new technologies and methodologies,” said Peter.

“This has given us a much better understanding of wellbeing at work. It has also catapulted us to the top of many preferred bidder lists.”

These actions and behaviours are a change of attitude, but not direction, he explained. “With two or three generations in a family business, you need to know the basic rules,” said Peter.

“The founder might not know the value of corporate governance, and all the pitfalls that will inevitably occur, but problems will occur if there isn’t a set of red lines and guidance.

“If a family lets it, emotion could get in the way of commercial, and the family’s work ethic must be 100 per cent, or non-family employees will lose respect for siblings coming through the ranks, who haven’t earned their stripes.

“The big thing for me is recognising and encouraging talent,” added Peter.

“After all, we eventually want people that are more talented than us, to perhaps enable a move into the role of business owner rather than CEO.”