From drylining to facades, TudorMay masters the art of seamless and sustainable growth  

Built on the basic principles of hard work and dedication, TudorMay is one of the UK’s fastest growing providers of dry lining and facades. Originally founded as JT Tudor Ltd. over 20 years ago, the company has since evolved into a trusted supplier of second-to-none subcontracting services, as Group Managing Director, Sam Faux, reveals: “The company’s founder, Johnny Tudor, first arrived in the UK from Romania in the early 2000’s. He had personal ambitions to supply labour to the drylining industry.  

“Gradually, the business grew and became a fully-fledged dry lining subcontractor, supplying materials and labour to sites across the UK. We expanded our portfolio to include SFS and facades, and, in 2020, we started to see significant growth. 

“Johnny became acquainted with Lee May around 2020 through a project he was delivering on. Lee is an entrepreneur and has been in the construction industry for over 30 years. Having sold previous businesses for a profit, he was interested in taking on a new project with us. Lee came on board shortly after. We changed our name and branding to TudorMay, to reflect the new ownership, and have continued to reach new heights ever since.   

Expansion strategy 

“Much of our work now comes from repeat business, and clients who have worked with us for some time. We always aim to provide reliable services, utilising the industry’s correct materials and systems, and the fact that customers keep coming back proves that we’re succeeding. 

“As part of our strategic growth plan, we’ve expanded our service and product offering. Predominantly, the business is focussed on facades, drylining, decorations, screed, and fireproofing. We offer a range of drywall solutions, which currently make up around 75 percent of the business, with the other 25 percent is covered by SFS and facades.  

“Our current strategy is to continue to grow the arm of the business that handles facades while maintaining or steadily increasing the drylining operation. We’re excited to deliver a more diverse range of products and services. Branching out and trying new things is one of the ways we’ve remained dynamic and successful over the years, and our current strategy reflects this.” 

Adopting a more sustainable approach has allowed TudorMay to set itself apart from the competition. As Sam affirms: “Here at TudorMay we see sustainability as more than just ticking a box. We consider the environmental impact of our work from a different angle to most of our peers, and it’s one of the reasons we’ve been so successful in recent years. We don’t box ourselves in, or put limits on what we can achieve. Our growth mindset is also central to this strategy, as we’re always making room for new innovations and approaches.”  

Thanks to a recent diversification push, TudorMay has been able to take on some of its most exciting and challenging projects to date. As Sam details: “We primarily work in the residential sector, but we’ve also dipped our toe into commercial projects over the past year to support the growth in the facades side. We’ve seen a lot of success, especially when it comes to our commercial facades. This will help us maintain growth, even with the difficulties in some residential projects owing to the building safety acts and gateway approval processes now in place.  

“With that in mind, a lot of our more recent projects have been strategically chosen to help us become more diverse and self-sustaining. We’ve worked closely with the Berkeley Group, which has become a trusted partner of the business. Berkeley is a market leader and a business that we are delighted to be working with. What’s been especially rewarding about this work is the clear and effective communication between teams – it’s been a huge asset in getting the work done quickly, and to an incredibly high standard.   

Strong connections

“One of our biggest jobs to date for Berkeley Group would be the 555 units in Bethnal Green. The project was to renovate an old gas work building into apartments, and it’s amazing to be part of this transformation.  

“Whilst we consider every client we work for as being ‘key’, we have to note two other businesses that have been part of our growth to date; Fairview Homes and Watkin Jones, where again we are operating as a subcontractor on a number of sites. This work has been really rewarding all around, it’s helped build the business up, diversify our offering, and, most importantly, build strong connections with trusted industry partners.”  

It’s clear that TudorMay is setting itself up for a long and prosperous future. Sam considers what’s next for the business: “In the coming years, we want to grow our turnover, remain profitable, and continue to sustainably deliver our products and services to clients across the UK and, importantly, with no legacy.  

“Following recent events (especially in the facade discipline), the word ‘legacy’ actually seems to have become a bit of a negative word. Whilst we appreciate why this is the case and we often refer to it ourselves – we have ambitions to flip this back to a positive phrase and create our own legacy. 

“Our long-term vision is to become the best-in-class provider in the country across all of our disciplines. That doesn’t necessarily mean being the biggest, just the brightest. TudorMay are, not so quietly, building our own reputation and we believe we offer something exceptionally valuable. We’re driven, innovative, and always pushing boundaries – and that, I believe, puts us on the path to enduring success,” he concludes.   

www.tudormay.com