B&E Boys, a prominent local construction, development and property investment company, is celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2021.
From small beginnings the firm has grown steadily over the years. From initial inception as a joinery manufacturing business, the 1970s saw a move into house building. In the following decade, the business expanded with investment in development. Throughout the years, a strong sense of community and family values has been at the core of everything B&E Boys does. To this day, the next generation of family members are involved in the business.
Brian Boys – son, and one of four children of William and Dora – formed the company when he took out a loan from his father, who himself was MD of local construction firm, Tricketts. Brian used the money to buy Albion Mills Sawmills, a joinery business and Funeral Directors on Albion Street, Bacup.
Director, John Boys, explains:
“I can still remember going up to the Joiners shop at night to see dad spraying timber laths, after tea, for the cotton industry that dad’s uncle found a source for.”
The firm began winning contracts for national companies such as Norweb and Woolworths. The company moved into house building in 1974, on Fern Hill in Stacksteads. Many local people were employed as the business grew.
A growing portfolio
In the 1980s, Boys began to invest in mill properties across the North West. These were buildings that had fallen into disrepair as UK manufacturing industries declined. Brian Boys had an eye for giving these grand old buildings a new lease of life. The company’s rental portfolio subsequently grew.
By this stage, B&E Boys had become a national building contractor, working with public sector authorities, and private sector commercial and retail enterprises. Alongside this, housebuilding grew and as an industrial landlord, the property portfolio extended across the neighbouring towns of Accrington, Blackburn, Bury and Bolton.
Over the years, the company has built and refurbished homes for Housing Associations and Local Authorities; built new schools for local authorities and independent schools, colleges and universities, such as Sedbergh School and Leicester Community Sports Centre. The company has created new build industrial sites such as Waters Meeting and J2 Business Park as well as improving various other sites across the North West.
‘Staff are regarded as extended family’
B&E Boys, under the Direction of John, Michael and Peter Boys has a strong commitment to its workforce, watching staff grow and develop. Staff are regarded as extended family. Speaking of family, the next generation of Boys’ children are now involved in the business too. The company has provided employment in the local area, as well as delivering a significant part of the housing needs in Bacup and Stacksteads over the last 50 years.
In addition, the company has preserved many local landmark buildings, such as St Mary’s, Rawtenstall, as well as extending the life of many older neglected buildings in the area. The company has maintained involvement and given financial encouragement to many local groups, organisations and schools.
In the future, the B&E Boys is looking to continue to grow and work with its client base, delivering quality homes and workspaces in Rossendale and beyond. For more information, visit www.beboys.co.uk and follow the company on Facebook and Twitter.
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