Chris Dawes from Visual PR hosts our latest podcast where he is talking to Matt Cantillon of the Cantillon Group.

Matt started in business as an electrician, after a parting of ways from the company he was working for. He set up on his own in 2010, and hearing how he has built up his own business is fascinating and inspiring. His business is now in its 15th year and now employs between 30 and 40 people.

From a man with a van, his company now has a contract with the local authority; they offer a turnkey package for anything construction. They do extensions, they project manage and where they don’t have the people, they work with a team of subcontractors.

Chris and Matt discuss the negative impact of COVID and Brexit on the building industry, and how much harder and more expensive it is still making things. Everything has had a huge knock-on effect, because a lot of products come in from Germany.

When it comes to charity, Matt works closely with Renew Men's Shed and the Swindon Night Shelter, and he likes to be able to ‘give back’ to the local area. He talks about how he’s been fortunate in his life, and he recognises that not everyone has, so wants to continue to support local charity.

He has been a member of Business Wise for 4 or 5 years and before this tried a few groups, before finding the one that worked for him. Matt has a unique way of looking at networking. For him it is more about growing his team and resources rather than looking for work. By that he means, he is interested in finding people in the group who he could use in his own business, due to their skills and expertise.

Matt also shares his future plans to develop a renewable side of his business.

If you’d like to know more about Matt and Businesswise, visit https://businesswise.org.uk/ and if you’d like to visit email secretary@businesswise.org.uk – we do have to check first that your seat is vacant. If it’s not you will be put on a waiting list.