OCS Group is named family business of the year

OCS Group, the total facilities management provider based in Crawley, has been named Family Business of the Year at the prestigious Private Business Awards 2012. The awards are sponsored by PwC and HSBC Private Bank and are intended to celebrate excellence in the non-quoted business sector and underline the importance of private business in the UK economy.

OCS was presented with the award alongside other winners, including JCB and Mind Candy, at London’s Royal Opera House in Covent Garden. OCS was set up in 1900 by Frederick Goodliffe and is now in its fifth generation of family management.

The judges were impressed by OCS’s record of cash generation, a strategic approach to developing services in high-growth markets and its commitment to innovation and sustainability.

“The group has a five-year plan to expand revenues to £1.2bn, with a heavy-hitting management team to achieve it. It is a very clear strategy, a longstanding, sustainable company and something that is relatively recession-proof – they’ve done very well,” said Charlie Hoffman, managing director of HSBC Private Bank and co-chair of the Private Business Awards judging panel.

“We are delighted to have won this prestigious award which reflects our position as an innovative, sustainable total facilities management business with professional management, responsible ownership and a harmonious family dynamic,” said Martin Gammon, managing director of OCS Group UK & Europe.

OCS was chosen from more than 600 nominations and was up against stiff competition in the category vying with three other short-listed family businesses – commercial vehicle bodybuilder and trailer manufacturer S Cartwright & Sons; construction firm Wates; and trading and manufacturing business Edward Billington & Sons – for the winner’s podium.

Big names including JCB, Dyson, 99p Stores, Dr Martens and The White Company were also short-listed for the awards which are run in support of LEAP, a charity that supports young people and jobless adults.