Brickability boss quits after seven years leading growth fueled by takeover of building materials group
- Managing Director Alan Simpson has been a director of Brickability since 1996
- Successor Frank Hanna leads clay products specialist Michelmersh Brick Holdings
Briackability’s chief executive is set to retire, having overseen dramatic growth and transformation at the building materials supplier.
Alan Simpson has been a director of Brickability since 1996, rising to the CEO role two decades later after leading a management buyout of the company from its founder Peter Milton.
Since 2016, he has pursued a strategy of expanding the revenue streams of the Berkshire-based company through numerous acquisitions.
Building: Since Alan Simpson (pictured) became chief executive in 2016, Brickability has expanded its revenue streams through several acquisitions
The company entered the roofing market in May 2018 by purchasing Crest Brick Slate & Tile and Crest Roofing.
That same month, the company added specialty windows and doors, heating, plumbing and millwork to its offering through the takeover of three companies founded by Simpson; Towelrads, Frazer Simpson and FSN Doors.
A further 14 acquisitions have been made by the group since its debut in the AIM junior market four years ago, when it raised £57m after costs and was valued at around £150m.
These buyouts have seen Brickability’s annual revenue soar 187.2% for the 12 months ending March 2022.
But revenue growth was also strong, up 31.9%.
Despite a more uncertain economic backdrop, Brickability said in April that it expected to report annual revenue of £680 million for the last financial year.
John Richards, Chairman of Brickability, said Simpson “oversaw monumental growth, navigating the business through many cycles and challenges, and imprinted an entrepreneurial and collegial spirit on the group, which has been key. of its success”.
Simpson will stay on for at least three months to ensure a smooth transition until he is replaced by Frank Hanna, who has more than three decades of experience in the brick industry.
Hanna currently co-manages clay products specialist Michelmersh Brick Holdings, which produces over 125 million clay bricks and pavers a year and has also grown through a series of strategic acquisitions under her leadership.
Hanna himself joined Sussex-based Michelmersh after the acquisition of Freshfield Lane Brickworks, then Europe’s largest squeeze brick factory.
Simpson said: “The business is exceptionally well placed in the market and I look forward to continuing with the group in a non-board role after the transfer.
“Frank is an outstanding operator, manager and leader, and I look forward to working with him in the years to come to continue to grow the Brickability business.”
Brickability Group shares were just 0.2% higher at 62.6p on Friday morning, despite having fallen more than 28% in the past 12 months.
