If David Salisbury found himself alone on a desert island he would have every chance of surviving, and possibly finding a new career in the process.
From physicist, to deep-sea diver, mental health professional, joiner, software programmer, photographer and, ultimately businessman, David has been through several “iterations”, as he calls them, and most of them are self-taught.
Each of these career changes was a step on the path to his founding David Salisbury Conservatories, arguably the UK market leader in top-end timber conservatories and orangeries.
David grew up in Beckenham, in south-east London. His father worked at the Guildhall, in the Corporation of London’s finance department, and his mother was a school secretary. David’s chosen path, however, was science, which led to his studying physics at Oxford University.
“I wanted to be an academic, a cuttingedge scientist,” he said. “I was very interested in what makes the world work, in the big questions of elementary particles and cosmology.”
After graduating he started a PhD at Sussex University but part way through he started to question its validity and he didn’t complete the degree.
“I felt what I was likely to achieve if I completed it was of so little importance and significance it wasn’t worth it. This tiny little corner of this tiny little field – is this really what I want to be doing?” said David. The father of his girlfriend at the time had been a deep-sea diver and hearing him talk about it David, with what seems to be typical pragmatism, thought “I could do that”.
After completing a six-week deep-sea diving course run by an ex-naval officer, David took a job in the North Sea, which was just opening up as an oil field. He was then offered a job with a company based in Bahrain and spent three-and-a-half years diving in the Persian Gulf.
Despite the dangerous, and macho, environment David regards it as one of the most enjoyable periods of his life and well paid.
“You had your slot and a particular job to do and each day there was a new job. You didn’t have an accumulation of tasks and unfinished business or piles of things on your desk. It was very clean,” he said.
“But I could see that the lifestyle was quite addictive and also quite destructive. The people I worked with didn’t have successful relationships or successful family lives because they spent a lot of time away from home,” he said.
Any temptation to continue was averted when, on leave back home, David met Cathy, now his wife. Over several years he had developed an interest in psychotherapy and offered a job with a company based in Bahrain and spent three-and-a-half years diving in the Persian Gulf.
Despite the dangerous, and macho, environment David regards it as one of the most enjoyable periods of his life and well paid.
“You had your slot and a particular job to do and each day there was a new job. You didn’t have an accumulation of tasks and unfinished business or piles of things on your desk. It was very clean,” he said.
“But I could see that the lifestyle was quite addictive and also quite destructive. The people I worked with didn’t have successful relationships or successful family lives because they spent a lot of time away from home,” he said.
Any temptation to continue was averted when, on leave back home, David met Cathy, now his wife. Over several years he had developed an interest in psychotherapy and our industry as a conservatory is a luxury, discretionary spend. Even for those with money there were a couple of years where conspicuous consumption was frowned on,” said David.
By concentrating on sales the company did survive; revenue now exceeds pre-recession levels and David Salisbury has just processed its 10,000th order.
However, the financial crisis forced a change in approach for David. He refers to himself as a “reluctant businessman” but he could also be called an accidental businessman, someone who left the London rat race to seek a quieter life in a cottage industry and ended up running a multimillion pound company.
“I was never interested in building a business; I’m not in it for the money. I’ve been entirely interest driven at every stage, in solving problems which may or may not make us money,” he explains.
“I came down with a bump when the financial crisis occurred. Perhaps I’d been a naïve enthusiast before that but I’ve had to become much more hard-headed.”
This has included restructuring the company and adding greater diversity to ensure it can weather the next financial blip. Prior to the crisis business was divided evenly between trade and consumer but now the latter accounts for 90%. Clifton Joinery, which was bought as the trade arm, has been rebranded David Salisbury Commercial. This division, which deals with architects and developers, includes windows and doors and David believes it has huge potential.
“All the statistics say that timber windows are a growing market and we’ve done some good sized projects in the last 18 months. There’s a £5m-turnover business there if we focus on it,” he said.
The company is particularly proud of its vertical sliding sash windows, which are supplied with either traditional weights and pulleys, or modern spiral balanced mechanisms.
Another growth area is rustic oak-framed extensions, which are machined in the state-of-the-art Highbridge factory but are built using traditional jointed and pegged construction.
“It’s about 15% of our turnover and there’s probably more potential growth in it than in the traditional conservatory/orangery market,” said David.
The next addition to the company’s product range will be a modern building, “more glass than timber”, and much more contemporary than the traditional conservatories and orangeries.
In May, during the week of the Chelsea Flower Show, the company opened its first show site, at the Chelsea Gardener in London with the aim to secure David Salisbury as the upmarket company in the sector.
“I would like to think we’ve been that for a number of years but by having the show building and a presence in London I’m hoping it will cement that position,” said David.
The company bears David’s name but he is quick to share the responsibility for its success, including “technical guru” Dave Churches, the fourth person to join the company in Westbury and responsible for product development and compliance issues. Martin Hodges, who was 16 when he joined, used to make every roof and now manages the design department.
Today the company has 150 on its payroll, including David’s daughter, a professional photographer who does promotional photography.
There is also a strong management team, which David has developed as part of his succession planning. He has no plans to step back, however. He may well be a reluctant businessman but he would be an equally reluctant retiree. The little time he has away from work he spends with his two grandchildren and he enjoys hill walking and travelling.
And there’s the danger that too much spare time could well lead to his next “iteration”. “I’m a bit of a workaholic. My hobbies seem to turn into businesses,” he said.
