February 2008 - Page turns to the next chapter

It is a stunning coup for P H Warr plc - securing the business leader who helped transform Cobham from a £100 million aerospace group into a £2 billion global enterprise. Gordon Page is joining P H Warr as non-executive chairman as part of an ambitious new growth strategy. Mr Page is bringing a wealth of expertise in business acquisition and succession planning to P H Warr – underscoring and enhancing the firm’s internal philosophy and successful growth strategy.

A combined wealth of knowledge, Gordon Page and Philip Warr.

Managing Director, Philip Warr said: “We have more than quadrupled our business over the past six years, but believe there is still enormous potential for further growth.  Gordon’s wisdom, experience and expertise will be invaluable in guiding P H Warr through the next phase of its development.  We feel very privileged that Gordon has agreed to become a member of the P H Warr board.”

P H Warr is looking forward to a bright future and Mr Page has already spotted many potentially lucrative opportunities for the firm.

“There is a consistent message from the Government that more houses will be built in the coming years,” he said.

“With this, a proper infrastructure is needed and brownfield land is to be sourced and prepared for housing, which is encouraging for P H Warr.”

“The focus is on regeneration and refurbishment, so surveying will play a key role in this – with or without a recession,” he added.

Mr Page is highly respected as the eminent Dorset business leader whose boardroom acumen has transformed listed companies Cobham and Hamworthy – taking him to Buckingham Palace and The Pentagon in the process.

He is a past president of the Dorset Business chamber and a former chairman of the Institute of Directors (IoD) Wessex Branch.

In fact, it was Wessex IoD that first brought P H Warr to his attention. P H Warr founder Philip Warr has always been a strong supporter of the IoD and is poised to follow in Mr Page’s footsteps by becoming Wessex chairman in 2008.

He recalls Mr Warr as running a “very ambitious firm” and was impressed with what was then a comparatively new business so they kept in touch “as most business contacts in this area do.”

P H Warr’s directors then approached Mr Page to see whether he would join their company board at a time when he was looking to reduce his role within Cobham.

Mr Page said: “I was delighted to be approached by such a determined and striving company. From the outset I have been aware of the calibre of their work, both locally and nationally. I am pleased that they have asked me to be involved.”

He puts his success down to recognising chemistry within a team and working around that chemistry to get the best results.

He also believes in transparent management: “I like to invite non-board members to board meetings to present their ideas to the board.”

“Often, someone who is on ground level working everyday within our teams can offer more insight than directors can on how the business should be growing,” he said. His transparent management structures also extend to shares. He believes that employees who are also shareholders tend to share the same goals for the business – along with the ability and drive to achieve best practice.

Gordon Page in his new role at P H Warr featured with some of the directors at P H Warr.

Going away from the norm in traditional business structures is part of Mr Page’s persona as a corporate leader, as he believes completely in thinking laterally to help drive businesses forward.

“It may seem like simple things, but rewarding employees and including them in your strategy is something that is often overlooked in business, but it is the key to some of the successes I’ve been involved in,” he said.

“I also feel that encouragement of staff and observing what works well but not interfering is also a good strategy to have in a business – be that a small local company or a large multi-national.”

Despite spending most of his corporate life in big company boardrooms, Mr Page has always championed the rights of SMEs, lobbying on behalf of firms of all sizes through his work with Dorset Business and the Wessex IoD.

“There is so much red tape in business today and it is especially prominent in Dorset where there are a lot of small businesses and the director has to fulfil many roles,” he said.

“We are also expected to be qualified in everything we do, which for a busy entrepreneur is almost impossible.”

He added: “The UK economy is stretched and signs of strain are showing. If there is a recession then smaller companies will always be hit first and may find it hard to withstand.”

Mr Page advises businesses facing a potentially tougher economic climate to “always listen and encourage people to talk to each other.”

It is a strategy that has helped him to generate billions of pounds worth of business – and one that P H Warr is pursuing to great effect.