ScotHoist

Our client

Scot Hoist, established in 2004, is one of Scotland’s leading hoisting specialists. They provide high-quality vertical access equipment to the construction, petrochemical, and events sectors. Led by Founder and MD, Robert Steele, the business has earned a reputation for safety, reliability, and expert service. Backed by a team of MVQ-qualified and temporary works engineers, they deliver tailored solutions across some of the UK’s most demanding industries.

The challenge

When Robert launched Scot Hoist, business development was his top priority. But as demand grew, so did the pressure. He found himself juggling growth plans with day-to-day admin, leaving little time to focus on scaling the business.

He needed support. Not just someone to keep things ticking over, but a team he could trust to take care of the financial and operational essentials, freeing him up to focus on driving the business forward. With a tight-knit team and strong culture, it was vital any partner felt like part of the Scot Hoist family.

The solution

Scot Hoist teamed up with AAB’s Business Advisory team in 2010. Initially, support focused on tax and year-end compliance. But over the years, the relationship grew. The AAB team became a sounding board, trusted, consistent, and proactive.

However, in 2020, as the world began to change, so did Scot Hoist’s needs and the support they required from AAB, which also evolved. The previous 10 years of support showed that the team at AAB could be trusted. As of this year, AAB became a strategic advisor to Scot Hoist during a period of significant change, facilitating the acquisition of a business partner with the help of AAB’s business advisory team, making the process as smooth and pain-free as possible.

The first step was undertaking a digital transformation in 2021, implementing a fit-for-purpose accounting system. The importance of this digital transformation was that Robert now has access to the most up-to-date and relevant information about the business. As this constantly evolves, we continue to work with Robert to optimise the system and processes, ensuring they continue to provide the correct financial information when needed most. The Business Advisory team introduced Robert to the Payroll and People Consultancy teams. The payroll team manages Scot Hoist’s payroll, ensuring staff are paid on time, thereby relieving Robert of this administrative burden and providing peace of mind that payments are made promptly.

Initially, Robert sought the support of our Health and Safety (H&S) team to develop a comprehensive H&S policy and safety procedures for the workshop and yard, ensuring the highest standards of safety for both employees and clients. Our H&S team assisted the business in obtaining key accreditations, including Safe Contractor, Constructionline Gold, the Acclaim certificate for Health and Safety, and social value recognition. Subsequently, the HR team was introduced to assist with HR policies, employee handbooks, and other general HR support.

Our impact

For Robert and the team, the support from AAB has been crucial to the development of the business. In Robert’s words

“We wouldn’t be able to do or be where we are without the support of AAB. We deal with the things we’re good at, and AAB deal with everything else”.

For Robert, the partnership we’ve built comes down to the trusted relationship built between AAB and Scot Hoist. It’s not just a tick-box exercise or a yearly compliance job for the team. As Robert puts it: “I feel like I’m part of their business and they feel like they’re part of mine.” The support of the team is everything.”

In the last 10-15 years, H&S has become a significant part of the hoisting industry. The AAB H&S team provides half-day training and ongoing support once a week to develop the Scot Hoist team further. This has been crucial for the team:

“The support of the AAB H&S and HR team has enabled us to gain the accreditations that have allowed us to tender for projects in industries such as the petrochemical, nuclear and construction.”

The Business Advisory team has greatly assisted Scot Hoist in digitising the business through accounting and CRM platforms. Over the past four years, Scot Hoist’s turnover has increased considerably, alongside the support of AAB.