Bellagio Stone, the Leamington Spa-based manufacturer of granite, marble and fabricated stone kitchen and bathroom worktops, is celebrating after securing a new deal with one of the world’s largest home retailers. The company, which employs 70 people at its factory in Leamington Spa, will now supply its products to 12 stores in the south of the UK in a boost that will help it look to build on annual sales of £10m.
The business has grown despite tough market conditions and has been assisted in this by strategic innovation advice and expert business support from the Warwickshire Manufacturing Growth Programme.
By accessing the industry-proven GROWTHmapper review, Bellagio Stone has been able to identify several key areas for improvement, including a Knowledge Transfer Partnership and investment in new £500,000 CNC machinery, handling and dust management equipment. More assistance has followed in the form of a ‘Lean Principles’ workshop and a grant for Leadership Coaching after identifying the need to develop the skills of its managers. The business is also committed to developing energy efficiencies and has been working to access support with the Warwickshire Business Energy Advice Service to help it deliver a raft of green improvements.
"The Warwickshire Manufacturing Growth Programme has been really useful in helping us navigate and understand the various support systems available to us in what is often a complex field,” said Mike Boyden, director of Bellagio Stone. “It’s often hard to know where or how to access these services, but Michelle Connor and her team have been fantastic in giving us a route to grants, workshops and one-on-one support... Our marketplace has been very tough recently, yet we have been able to plot a way through, culminating in this landmark deal with a major global home retailer.”
Bellagio Stone, which is aiming to grow its business by 30% between now and 2026, serves 2 main markets – showrooms (kitchen designers) and housing developers. It has built up a customer base that includes Redrow Homes, Starbucks, Barratt Homes, David Wilson Homes and Magnet.
The Warwickshire Manufacturing Growth Programme, which is delivered by Oxford Innovation Advice, has already supported over 80 local companies to unlock barriers to growth through one-on-one coaching, consultancy, free workshops and signposting to other schemes. Backed by funding from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF), the specialist support is available until March 2025 and there is still scope to assist more manufacturing firms across North Warwickshire, Nuneaton & Bedworth, Rugby, Stratford-upon-Avon and Warwick.
Pictured from left to right: Michelle Connor (Warwickshire Manufacturing Growth Programme), Cllr Martin Watson and Mike Boyden (Bellagio Stone).
