A SCOTTISH plantscaping firm, which counts the Balmoral Hotel, JP Morgan and The Royal Yacht Britannia among its clients, is projecting further growth with a focus on workplace wellbeing.
East Lothian-based Fleurtations says it has seen an increase business from the hospitality trade as it sought to create attractive outdoor areas for customers and poised for the return of offices with the working environment expected to be a key consideration for businesses.
Named Family Business of the year at the 2020 Scottish Enterprise Awards, the firm is celebrating 30 years in business and now preparing to respond to any new requirements across the market.
In its first three decades it has gone from having one member of staff to 20, from one client to more than 1,000 and from a turnover of £22,000 to revenues of more than £1 million last year.
Founders Belinda Jarron and David Chalmers, partners in life as well as business, set up the firm as an interior landscape designer and it now creates, installs and maintains award-winning interior and exterior plant displays, window boxes and hanging baskets for some of the biggest names in international retail, business and events throughout the UK.
Ms Jarron said the coronavirus pandemic inevitably hit turnover but that in some areas there had been new contracts won.
“There is definitely light at the end of the tunnel as lockdown begins to ease,” she said. “Compared to when lockdown began, our sales are up but that’s not a huge surprise after the decimation of last spring and summer.
“The nature of our orders has changed since before the pandemic began.
“They are now much more short notice and short term as our clients try to find their feet. We have had to adapt to this new way of doing business by becoming far more reactive, but we’re more than happy to work that way as it’s how we can best support our clients as they re-emerge after what has been an incredibly challenging time.”
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Managing partner Ms Jarron also said: “Our turnover was down 25 per cent last year. We are only a couple of months into our new financial year and still suffering because of offices being closed but exterior sales and especially sales of faux exterior plants are nearly back to the pre-pandemic levels.
“There’s been a big rise in enquiries from hospitality for outside areas from across Scotland.”
As lockdown slowly lifts, more businesses are again making orders.
Mr Jarron said: “The office market is still very uncertain and unsettled, but lots of our clients are keen to make the working environment welcoming to those returning to the office. Plants are helping people feel more at ease as the gradually adjust to being away from their homes. We’ve helped businesses use plants as screens and punctuation points, which is really helping our recovery.”
The firm has attracted blue chip public and private sector clients including the Scottish Parliament, Lloyds Banking Group and Deloitte.
Highlights include working for of the world’s most prestigious annual sporting events, golf’s The Open Championship.
It has created displays for the event every year since 2015 at venues including St Andrews, Royal Troon, Carnoustie, Royal Birkdale, Royal Portrush and this summer at Royal St George’s. It included a standout overhead installation at the Royal Birkdale event in 2018.
The husband and wife team, who celebrate 25 years married this weekend, say staying ahead of industry innovations by travelling extensively to visit nurseries throughout Europe to discover unusual forms of standard plants has been key to Fleurtations' success, particularly around sustainability, and “as the world focuses more on environmental challenges, so has the firm”.
Creative partner Mr Chalmers said: “Sustainability is at the core of everything we do – and what clients want – and we have made significant strides in ensuring every project we deliver pays its way in this area. Landscaping is more than a veneer – it brings everything together. We always aim to bring our horticultural expertise and flair to projects so planting can evolve over time – just like our relationships with them.”
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