50 Years in Business: Balancing Heritage and Legacy

Clyde McClure, founder of Unit Management

Reaching the milestone of 50 years in business has been no small feat. It all started as a one-man operation after a global career with large corporations.

Fueled by the determination to never work for anyone else again, I took on the challenge. I’m proud to say that our company has grown organically, in a bootstrapped manner, expanding one building at a time to now owning 22 buildings.

By channeling profits from various ventures into commercial properties and finding ways to make these properties more productive, I spotted opportunities and unmet demand that others had overlooked. My early expansion strategy focused on identifying and unlocking hidden value in properties that others had not recognised.

Our journey has been one of evolution and resilience, balancing heritage and legacy, past and future, while navigating an ever-changing business landscape and building a team. Drawing from our experience, I wanted to share some insights for those striving to honour their roots while embracing what’s yet to come.

Keep Core Values and Embrace Evolution

When maintaining a successful heritage business, you must understand that change is necessary. Our company’s vision is constantly evolving, and we naturally expect it to continue to do so over the years. When we started, we were the first to market, as there weren’t any Regus’s or wework’s. The flexible workspace didn’t exist. There are now over 6,000 flexible workspaces across the nation, accounting for roughly 85 million total square feet of space, and 58% of UK landlords expect at least 26% of their portfolios to be flex office space by 2030. Ultimately, you have to evolve with the market. Keeping your business relevant to consumers often involves trying different angles and staying open to innovation.

That said, our core mission remains the same as it was over half a century ago when we opened our first office: to supply sensibly priced, conveniently located workspace that offers business owners and their teams the freedom and ability to focus on productivity, ingenuity, and innovation. These are the foundation we build our legacy on, and they’re not something to be compromised. In this way, our vision evolves within the business, whereas our values stay rooted in the family.

Navigating the Complexity of a Family Business

A family-owned company can be great for business, with an inherent trust and understanding among all colleagues. However, that’s not to say it’s always plain sailing. There’s a unique layer and an adapted communication style is often needed to ensure these core principles are agreed upon.

It’s important to remember that family doesn’t always mean business, and business doesn’t always mean family. It doesn’t have to constantly go hand-in-hand, and it’s key to have these distinct boundaries. You have to know when someone is speaking as your relative and when someone is your business partner, making sure personal relationships are not compromised when it shifts to that professional setting.

Sharing a Common Culture

Building a skilled and culturally aligned team is key. Ensure that your team possesses the necessary skills and shares a common culture, which is particularly important in a family business where maintaining a non-hierarchical structure is challenging. Define clear roles and responsibilities for every team member, regardless of whether they are family or non-family, to promote fairness and transparency. Stay competitive in talent acquisition by establishing recruitment policies emphasising merit over familial ties. This means that being a family member should not automatically guarantee employment.

Clients also understand our endeavours: “Direct access to the landlord, rather than through agents, ensures confidence and clarity in the services and office accommodation provided. Additionally, as a family-run business, they consistently demonstrate a deep understanding of our needs.” Stated Robert Hill a Director from Graphica display and a 14 years client of ours.

The Ability to Pivot Is Crucial

Whilst our heritage has remained intact, we’ve found cultural shifts within our business have been necessary to keep up with the times. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted traditional ways of working, and revolutionised the flexible workspace industry. Our newer office spaces have been designed for a hybrid workforce, featuring increased investment in communal areas with phone booths and meeting rooms, smart technology and greater attention to the working environment, which is becoming increasingly important to everyone. It’s essential to stay relevant to your clients the whole time and understand their needs.

Introducing and managing continued change can also be challenging due to the traditional nature of running day-to-day operations as a family business. This year, we have focused on improving the operational leverage of our management platform, allowing us to increase management capacity for new buildings with minimal effort. This success boils down to three factors: first and foremost, a team with the necessary skills and culture; second, advanced technology and systems; and finally, efficient processes that integrate everything.

Building Strong Relationships and Navigating Economic Fluctuations

With a loyal client base and suppliers, from cleaning to IT to property agents, they have grown alongside us. But expanding our client base has been vital to our success, and these strong relationships must be maintained as our company evolves. Customer service, including fostering trust and reliability, remains the cornerstone of our business, and we find it vital to go the extra mile for our clients. Long-term partnerships and word-of-mouth referrals have continued to grow, and we find our recognition in the business community paramount for our success.

But no matter how strong your relationships with the clients are, sometimes you can’t control what happens economically. The ability to adapt to changing economic conditions has therefore been crucial to our resilience withstanding the up and down of property cycles by being a lean and nimble team.

It’s safe to say we’ve learnt a lot over the past 50 years, and it’s not always been easy to honour our roots while embracing the future. However, balancing past, present and future in business has been our most complex, yet most rewarding, challenge. It’s taught us that it is possible to keep your core values whilst adapting for change, and that you can still innovate whilst maintaining long-term relationships.