A Slough-based logistics business has boosted its profits by 45% in the last 12 months to reach a record turnover of £700,000 with plans to hit £1m by end of year, thanks to the support and knowledge gained through the Help to Grow: Management Course.
Established in 2005, Best Trading is a specialist supplier of electromechanical parts for turbines to the industrial and energy sectors. The business supplies components to some of the Gulf’s largest companies including state-owned electricity business, Saudi Electricity Company, and the Middle East’s largest oil firm, Saudi Aramco.
Having moved from Saudi Arabia to the UK in 2004, founder Abdul Waheed set up Best Trading as a side hustle alongside his day job working for international courier business, TNT. Abdul was able to start working full time on Best Trading in 2013. The firm is now a family-run operation employing seven people across the UK, Spain, and the Middle East.
The business’ recent boost in profits comes after Abdul completed the 12-week, 90% government-funded Help to Grow: Management Course, which is designed to help business leaders and senior managers increase resilience, innovation, and growth.
The course was delivered by Brunel Business School – a recipient of the Small Business Charter accreditation that recognises institutions that support small businesses – and gave Abdul the skills he needed to focus on growth and succession planning.
This included transferring day-to-day, decision-making responsibilities to his son, Faisal, who works alongside Abdul in managing Best Trading. Faisal now oversees the expansion of the firm’s supplier network and the procurement of materials, which has enabled Adbul to take a step back to focus on the firm’s strategy and growth trajectory, in addition to managing long-term client relationships.
Abdul Waheed, Managing Director at Best Trading, said: “Supply chains and their networks have faced immense challenges over the past two years with many suppliers getting cold feet as businesses experienced a rise in input costs. Despite this, we’ve remained active in and maintained relationships with our clients allowing us to grow our share of the energy market, which will be crucial as we get closer to the colder months.
“I’ve always found it difficult to relinquish control and delegate, but the Help two Grow: Management Course has given me the confidence and insight to begin transitioning away from the day-to-day running of the business and transfer more responsibility to my son.
"Working alongside my Help to Grow: Management mentor to create a rounded succession plan has also boosted my confidence in the future of the firm and its potential for growth with Faisal at the helm.”
Michael Hayman MBE, Chair, Small Business Charter, added: “With the support of small business experts at the Brunel Business School and his Help to Grow: Management mentor, Abdul has acquired the knowledge, leadership skills and confidence to build a succession plan for his business. Critically he has also been able to share that knowledge with his son, benefiting the next generation too.
Spending time working on their business is something that an increasing number of business leaders want to do and the Help to Grow: Management Course provides the tools and the know how to do this.
I look forward to seeing Abdul and the Best Trading team continue to evolve in this exciting period of transition.”
Across the South East, 435 SME leaders had graduated from the Help to Grow: Management Course by the end of March 2023 at the University of Brighton, Oxford Brookes University, and the University of Kent.
Business leaders can find out more about Help to Grow: Management and sign up for the course in their area by clicking here.
About Help to Grow: Management
Help to Grow: Management is a 12-week course designed to support business leaders and senior managers to increase resilience, innovation and growth within their organisations.
Delivered by Small Business Charter accredited business schools, the course is now available in 60 locations across the UK and is 90% government funded. It is designed to fit around existing work and personal commitments, providing business leaders with more than 50 hours of online and in person training including 10 hours of one-to-one mentoring. Individuals completing the course automatically join the Alumni Network, where they have access to exclusive events, content and partner offers, as well as the support of a UK-wide peer network.
The Small Business Charter, which oversees Help to Grow: Management, is an award for the UK’s world-class business schools. The Charter was developed by Lord Young, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, and the Chartered Association of Business Schools to celebrate business schools that play an effective role in supporting the UK’s 5.8m SMEs and their local economies by extension.