22 | Dunedin: Connor Jones Group T T Richard Loader Valuable insights from Fast 50 awards Dunedin’s Connor Jones Group has been awarded the Dunedin and Lower South Island Regional Deloitte Fast 50 ‘Fastest Growing Construction Company’ for the second successive year. REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT We focus on quality and work hard to deliver to a high standard. Painting | Decorating | Wallpapering Renovations | Maintenance | New Builds danblair@dbdecorating.co.nz 021 460 334 Proudly Supporting Connor Jones Group. • Stock up to 100mm • Drill up to 60mm Ph. 03 477 7277 www.precisionprofile.co.nz OTAGO’S PLATE-CUTTING SPECIALISTS LOCALLY OWNED AND OPERATED For the second year running, Dunedin’s Connor Jones Group has been awarded the Dunedin and Lower South Island Regional Deloitte Fast 50 ‘Fastest Growing Construction Company’. The regional awards were held in October 2023. The Fast 50 index recognises businesses that have shown significant growth over the past three years, determined by percentage revenue growth. To enter the Deloitte Fast 50, businesses need a revenue of $1 million or above in the 2021 financial year (FY21), submit independently-prepared financial statements for FY21 and FY23 and, if applicable, export revenue for the same years. Connor Jones Group was founded in 2018 by Directors Tom Connor and Chris Jones, as a building and engineering business based in Dunedin with a reach throughout Otago. A building division based in Invercargill also provides the company with a strong Southland presence. “Our percentage of revenue growth over the last three years was 100%,” says Tom, the company’s Managing Director. “That growth really has been about developing relationships with a few key clients. You can’t grow if you haven’t got the work volume and you also have to have the team to do the work. Successful delivery of a quality product is obviously also a key factor, and that was one of the reasons we established the business in the first place. So, it’s a complex equation. There is also the financial capability, and BNZ have been a huge factor for us, providing very pro-business support.” Tom acknowledges that one of the key benefits of entering the Deloittes Fast 50 awards is the independent scrutiny of the company’s financial statements. “It’s like a fresh and external set of eyes on your books, and looking at things from a different perspective. On a day-to-day basis you’re in the thick of things all the time and sometimes it’s hard to see the wood for the trees. During the interview process you’re probed with all sorts of questions regarding your business and how you have got to where you are. The judges might also offer some suggestions, particularly with things to look out for with significant growth. So, it’s really beneficial from a business perspective. The process gives you a reassurance that you really are doing some things right.” In addition to the benefits gained from the entry process, Tom says many valuable insights were gained from attending both the Regional and National awards evening, meeting other contestants, learning from their business experiences and adding them to the company’s professional network. He says that while he and Chris are extremely proud that Connor Jones Group was successful at the regional awards, particularly as it is the second year in a row, success is really a pat on the back to their team that make T T to page 24 the work happen. “We’re a young company both in terms of how long we have been operating, and the average age of our team. Our staff are predominantly in their late twenties to early thirties, and full of drive. We’ve deliberately picked people who are go-getters.
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