FEATURE
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Business Leaders: Take 5 Murray Alexander, Algo Ltd
M
urray Alexander is the Managing Director of Perth based Algo Ltd, a multimillion-pound turnover business that has grown from its humble roots in agricultural buildings to become one of Scotland’s longest-standing independent construction companies.
winning the contract to design and build King James VI Business Centre for the Castlecroft group in 2015 with the launch of Alfa Doors Ltd who specialise in the construction and supply of quality, bespoke industrial doors to other builders as well as manufacturing for Algo projects.
Established in the early ‘80s by Murray’s father, Peter, Algo has evolved and matured through hard work, consistently high standards and the foresight to evolve and diversify in order to satisfy the growing demands of commercial building in Scotland.
Murray’s own business portfolio extends to Alexander & Co, a residential-house-building company that he owns in partnership with Sandy Farmer, his second in command at Algo. He and his wife, Nadia, also own the Lia & Olive Beauty Salon brand, the exclusive Holland Cooper retail franchise for Scotland. Alexander Residence and Tay Apartments, a small suite of luxury self-catering apartments in Perth city centre, also form part of the business portfolio.
One of the few medium-sized construction firms remaining in Scotland, Algo’s projects range from turnkey solutions for local companies, to larger builds across the country. Murray has been at the helm for the past 12 years, and spent almost another 20 before that building his reputation and developing the knowledge and expertise that has carried Algo into the 21st century. He led the team responsible for the build of Algo Business Centre, the company’s first foray into serviced office lets. Since then, Algo has taken ownership of Inveralmond Business Centre as well as 4
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IiP: Economic changes over the past decade have resulted in many established Scottish and UK construction firms going under. Why do you think Algo has survived? MA: I can’t speak for others, and what they may or may not have done, but for us it has to be centred around our depth of knowledge and expertise. It’s a simple fact that the longer you’ve been at something, the better you become at it, and we’ve been doing this for almost 40 years – that in itself instils confidence in clients.
We ask local industry leaders the questions that matter most. Everyone in Algo’s senior management structure, both office and site based, has been with the company for between 10 and 20 years. And a couple of us even longer than that. The newer team coming up through the ranks are learning from this experience, not just the practical skills but the ethos behind who we are and what we stand for. This has meant that we’ve been in a position to remain true to our promise of delivering great quality buildings, on time and on budget. It gives us consistency – and customers like that. I think having our base in Perth has contributed to that message. We’re here – people can see us. We don’t just turn up for the build and disappear. That same experience means we’re good at business as well as building and so we’ve been quick to seize opportunities that have presented themselves to us. The business centres are a great example of that; as is Alfa Doors. We take educated risks that have allowed us to steadily increase turnover without the need to compromise on standards. IiP: You’ve mentioned the depth of knowledge in your team. How do you futureproof this expertise? We currently have around 90 employees
