ADVERTISING FEATURE

When Sue Risley sold her extremely successful software company, she had the opportunity to change direction and start a business she first had a taste of in her early years.

Although she was born into a family involved in the building business it was at the age of 18, when she bought her first property, that she found herself thoroughly enjoying it. A few years later she started her own company providing building services, which she ran for ten years in London.

A little disillusioned with the building business at that time, she returned to her original training and back to a career in finance; ultimately going on to lead a successful company providing Microsoft accounting solutions to SMEs, but she always maintained an interest in building. She decided helping companies count their money was not the road to fulfilment and so she sold her business and turned her attention to a career much closer to her heart – building refurbishment, home extensions and interior design.

Swapping her calculator for a hard hat and ledgers for swatches she founded Baileybridge, a one-stop-shop for those looking to improve or extend their homes.

Sue said: “The two businesses are remarkably similar: both are about listening extremely carefully to what a client wants and interpreting this into the finished product.

“Both are about offering a high level of personal attention and service and about delivering a well-managed project, on time and to budget. The difference is simply the product!”

Building and design is all about calculations, planning and delivering the result perfectly, and so is delivering an accounting system – which was why it was possible for Sue to run two businesses simultaneously for a number of years, before throwing herself totally into Baileybridge.

She describes the company as providing a turnkey approach to a client’s building or refurbishment needs for a fixed price. She said: “Baileybridge has a skilled team of around 35 professionals and tradesmen so we take on all aspects of the project from the initial architectural drawings, through getting planning permission and building regulations, to building and decorating; even providing the curtains and cushions.

“We provide a single point of contact from beginning to end so the client doesn’t need to manage hoards of people whose job and terminology they don’t always understand. Baileybridge removes all this hassle and worry. “When I first meet a client I get to know them and exactly what it is they want from the space. It could be more living or entertaining room, a relaxation area, extra bedrooms or a new kitchen or bathroom. Some clients are driven by practicality; others will say they want a very fancy space which their friends will envy – our job is to listen and provide for the fixed price we have contracted to.”

Sue will talk to clients about fixtures and fittings and style and finishes, and the budget of course, and then provides a detailed quote showing everything necessary to take the client from where they were at their first meet, to enjoying their new space. “Clients vary, but many need a lot of advice, particularly before we get started.

Some will want assurances on tiny details, others want to understand the planning and building control process and to be kept updated as their plans go through the council. Others don’t want to know anything except ‘when will it be finished’. “I have been involved in the building business in one way or another for a long time and so I can answer their questions on all matters relating to the project, and this makes them feel calm and reassured. “I advise on all manner of things and we will take on almost any task that facilitates the smooth running of the project – I have even been asked to organise Mother’s Day flowers for a client living in Hong Kong!

“My entire ethos for Baileybridge is to never be that annoying sort of company we all encounter too frequently that provides more difficulties than solutions, is difficult to get hold of and slow to respond to queries.

“I am not typical of a person running a building company and Baileybridge is not a typical building company. What drives me is ‘how can I make this client’s life better so they love us’ not ‘don’t bother me, I’m a busy person you know!”