On 18 September, 2013 Amit Bhatia tweeted that it was a proud day as Hope Cement had delivered its one millionth ton of cement, only nine months in. Just before the year’s end another tweet revealed that Hope Cement Works Kiln 1 had broken its 2011 record of a 2,160-hour run.
The charismatic chairman of
It also quickly reached another milestone by delivering its one million m³ of concrete. Full-year data for 2013 shows that the company went on to sell 2 million m³ of concrete (enough to build 22 Wembley Stadiums in London); 1.4 million tonnes of cement and 4 million tonnes of aggregates in its first year. It is now Britain’s fourth largest supplier of cement, concrete, asphalt and aggregates.
While at present Amit Bhatia may still be better known to many people as the co-owner and vice chairman of Queens Park Rangers (QPR) Football Club, London, and the son-in-law of steel magnate and chairman and CEO of
For example, the group recently became the UK’s first construction company to join the World Economic Forum’s Global Growth Companies (GGC) community.
It was recognised by the Forum after demonstrating strong growth potential during its first six months of trading. Hope Construction Materials is also one of just two European construction companies to show it meets membership criteria. Criteria for inclusion include double-digit annual growth rates, a substantial turnover of between US$100 million-$5 billion (€73 million-3.65 billion), executive industry leadership and the ability to demonstrate significant growth potential.
In March 2013, Bhatia was selected as the Asian Business Young Entrepreneur of the Year at the Asian Business Awards and subsequently he also won the award for Outstanding Young Executive at the Global Business Excellence Awards.
Kalpesh Solanki, managing editor of the Asian Media & Marketing Group that organises the Young Entrepreneur awards, said: “The Asian Business Awards recognise and reward excellence in business. Amit is an outstanding winner having achieved great success in both business and his community work. He is a model for aspiring entrepreneurs.”
Claiming to be the country’s largest independent supplier of construction materials, Hope Construction Materials has sites in England, Scotland and Wales.
The new company has 800 employees and around 170 plants and operations including the UK’s largest cement plant at Hope in County Derbyshire, central England.
Its name evolved naturally from this key asset. Hope Construction Materials was created following the estimated £300 million (€360 million) acquisition by Mittal Investments of the combined asset portfolio of divested sites by two of the UK’s conventional building materials companies,
With a wide circle of friends, including many celebrities, Bhatia, already a successful businessman and philanthropist, and also fluent in Hindi and Spanish, is in no doubt about his ambitions for Hope Construction Materials.
“The formation of Hope Construction Materials is not only evidence of our long-term confidence in the recovery of the UK economy and its construction sector, but also of our belief that there is an opportunity in the marketplace to redefine the service provided by businesses in this segment.
“Our name refers not only to our core asset but also to this confidence. Led by a strong and experienced management team, I believe that Hope Construction Materials has established itself as a player of reliability and quality.
“From Inverness [north-east Scotland] to Exeter [south-west England], and Llanelli [south Wales] to Lowestoft [eastern England], Hope Construction Materials AIMS to supply the country with high-performance and innovative cement, concrete, aggregates and asphalt.”
Hope is the first major new name in the British building materials sector for more than a decade, and the company says it has “a rare opportunity to take a different approach to customer service, bringing in new ideas, innovative products and services, and better ways to meet the needs of the construction industry.”
The company has been specifically designed to “encourage fresh thinking and bring an entrepreneurial, partnering spirit to the industry.”
Indeed, the company’s historic new brand identity, “a striking new shield logo,” has been designed to represent the pride and heritage of the industry and the origins of the company’s main cement source at Hope, combined with the way concrete is often shown in architectural drawings.
Bhatia, 34, was educated in Delhi, India, at Columba’s School until 1995, and then at Dulwich College in the UK in 1996, and at the British School in Delhi in 1997. He is an alumnus of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, USA, where he studied Applied Economics and Management.
He began his career working in mergers and acquisitions at both
He then founded and is senior partner at Swordfish Investments, a private equity fund, and Swordfish Capital Management, an investment management company. He owns and manages both of these Mayfair, London-based companies whose investments include education, media, telecoms and financial services.
In 2007 Bhatia bought a stake in Queens Park Rangers Football Club and currently serves as its vice-chairman as well as chairman of QPR in the Community Trust, raising £32,000 (€39,000) for the Trust in 2009 by taking part in a triathlon.
Also in 2007, he initiated the Mittal Champions Trust, which sponsors Indian sportsmen with world-class potential, one of whom, Abhinav Bindra, won a gold medal at the Beijing Olympics just one year later in 2008. In 2010, he set up the Global Relief Initiative, a registered charity which is determined to both improve and enhance the lives of people in need, particularly those who are living in socially or economically disadvantaged communities throughout the world. Additionally, he is involved in a number of private businesses spanning the education, media, telecom and real estate sectors.
There is much more that could be said about Bhatia and his achievements, but he is now keen to discuss Hope Construction Materials and its successful first year.
‘’British manufacturing is something I’ve been passionate about for a long time and was keen to get involved in and what could be more exciting than a company that creates essential products using raw materials from beneath our feet,” he says. “It was always going to take time to stabilise the business and start to optimise the way we run things, particularly with the scope and size of the company, but we’re pleased with our progress so far.
“Construction is a key industry for the UK economy and we have an opportunity to add some entrepreneurial spark to rejuvenate this traditional sector. Last year showed that the industry is once again on the rise and it’s a privilege to be part of it. We plan to push on from our solid foundations and continue to build on our standing as the country’s leading independent in the sector. Hope Construction Materials is a truly national business with more than 170 sites and 800 employees across the UK and it is an exciting prospect to lead a company with such scope.”
Was it an easy move to take on such a company or were there difficulties?
“Throughout my career I’ve been keen to challenge myself. The journey through the first year with Hope has felt as though we’ve been building a start-up and that comes with natural challenges but also immense amounts of learning and fun. You can’t start a business as complex as Hope Construction Materials without some difficulties, especially given the history and how it was formed. However, we have overcome most of these challenges and have made substantial progress in just one year which we are pleased with.
“We have a clearly defined vision of where we want to take Hope Construction Materials and are well on our way to achieving that.”
As a successful businessman, Bhatia did not hesitate in his decision to formulate the new company.
“To be successful you have to take opportunities as soon as they arise, something we feel we have done with Hope Construction Materials. “UK construction has struggled during the recession but in recent years I have begun to feel more confident about the UK economy and its return to prosperity. In that context, it was the ideal time to establish Hope Construction Materials, especially since we could structure ourselves to be lean and agile, which keeps overheads low and enables fast decision-making, something I have always felt is important for success,” he says.
“We had been on the lookout for good opportunities, especially in manufacturing, and the divestment of Lafarge and Tarmac’s assets gave us the chance to fulfil this ambition.”
The sale of the assets was the principal condition to receiving final clearance from the
“The deal itself went through relatively smoothly although there was a huge amount of work going on behind the scenes to ensure that this was the Case. We are still working towards separation from the legacy and the stabilisation and optimisation of the business has proven more complex than the deal itself. However, I look forward to an exciting 2014 as we push on with creating an efficient and robust business.” says Bhatia “I was integrally involved from day one and the brand and ideals are very dear to me.
“Futurebrand, one of the best agencies in the business, and our in-house team were involved in developing our brand identity.
We conducted many interviews with employees, customers and stakeholders to get a clear view of the kind of company our people wanted to work for and the kind of company our customers wanted to work with.
“Through these discussions we developed our core values of reliable, understanding, entrepreneurial and responsible and these are values we refer back to every day. These values are essential in achieving our long-term goals and as we say we truly believe the future is purple.
“Our employees are by far the most important asset of growing our business. They have bought in to our brand identity and are absolutely essential in making the step change in customer service that this industry desperately needs.”
The company has already won a number of major contracts and introduced new products, including HOPEFlow, a high-performance range of self-compacting concretes and flowing screeds, and there is more to come. “HOPEFlow has been a massive success for us and we already have several other products in the pipeline including the HOPEEco range of concretes with lower carbon and HOPESolve range of bespoke concrete solutions,” says Bhatia.
“We have a clear strategy and targets to match. We have plans for acquisitions and these will be announced as and when they are completed. “We want to breathe new life into the sector and welcome added competition which will ultimately benefit not only the industry, but also the economy as a whole.
“Service is a key element of our business offering and one aspect that we feel we can become unparalleled in within the industry.
“I’ve been proud of all of the businesses I’ve worked in but being chairman of Hope Construction Materials, a leading British business is a real source of pride for me. There’s something about working with tangible products, such as concrete and cement, which offers a different satisfaction to financial services and other service-led industries.”
Away from Hope Construction Materials Bhatia says he works hard to strike the right balance between his business interests and family life and hopes his colleagues, friends and family agree.
“I spend as much time as possible with my wife and children. As co-owner and vice chairman of QPR I am also passionate about their fortunes both on and off the pitch.”
And his advice to young professionals looking to build a successful career in business?
“Don’t be afraid to do something different: just because you’re working in a traditional industry doesn’t mean you have to take a traditional approach. Typically the most successful people don’t.”.
