Frost is back – as a Eurocell fab
25th July 2017

Former Deceuninck MD Roy Frost has returned to the industry spotlight with the purchase of a £12million sales Eurocell fabricator – along with more than a hint that other acquisitions might follow.

He has bought GJB, a 1,200 frames a week trade fabricator based in Rayleigh, Essex, from its previous owners Ken Blackman and founder Gary Bristow.

Speaking to The Glazine today (Jul 25), he said: “This is a very strong, profitable business and I’m looking forward to applying some of my own ideas to take it forward.” But he added: “If we can find any more like this, we would be very interested in forming a group.”

He explained further in his statement of the acquisition: “There are lots of well-run businesses in this industry with owners coming up to retirement age and I am keen to explore other opportunities.” On the acquisition itself, he added “We’ve renewed the leases on the factory units and already have exciting plans for growth. We have also taken out a four-year supply agreement with Eurocell.”

Ken Blackman will retire and Gary Bristow will continue in his role as Sales Director. Mike Wolstenholme, formerly with Epwin Group, Everest and Jeld-Wen, also joins the company as Operations Director.

Ken Blackman said: “GJB has been a big part of my life for so long it was very important to me that I left the company in the right hands. When Roy expressed an interest I immediately knew it was the perfect fit – he has the experience and ability to drive the company forward and I’m delighted we were able to strike a deal.”

Gary Bristow added: “Ken has been instrumental in our journey from a small start-up into one of the UK’s leading trade fabricators and I would like to take this opportunity to thank him personally for his fantastic support. The acquisition is good news for GJB staff, because it gives them job security, but it’s also good news for GJB customers. Roy understands the challenges of installation and retailing in a competitive market and will bring an abundance of experience, fresh ideas plus bags of energy to the business.”

Roy Frost had announced his departure from Deceunink in December Read Story to ‘focus on the holy grail of work-life balance’.

Pictured: Centre front row: Ken Blackman Roy Frost, Gary Bristow and Mike Wolstenholme outside the GJB factory.

www.gjbdevelopments.co.uk