
We are proud of our roots. Manchester is where it all started for us and our Hyde branch continues to be the beating heart of the Shawston business.
Nevertheless, Shawston became a truly national business when we expanded our branch network into London. Our London branch continues to supply our vast product range to the South of England which has rapidly become our biggest customer base.
Our journey over the last 50 years, has seen us venture into new and developing market sectors, establish a nationwide network of 5 branches and create an employee owned culture that is the envy of many. Forever Shawston is built upon the foundations of delivering unrivalled customer service and industry leading product quality.
We see many similarities with the Manchester worker bee. Manchester’s hard-working past, and the creation of a structured and harmonious working environment have greatly impacted on our own business culture and ethos.
You could say we have created hives of activity via our 5 nationwide branches and have a colony of 120 hardworking bees.

Our Vision
"To be a great place to work with a passionate and committed team providing unrivalled customer service, delivering a quality product enabling us to be the market leader in our industry."
Bee Different.






In 2003, we spread our wings and took our business to London. Our second depot in Hounslow embraced the Shawston culture and strategy, leading to exponential growth and the branch was soon relocated to High Wycombe - which is now our largest depot in the UK. We have 11 of our 25-strong vehicle fleet hitting the centre of London every day by 6am.


The acquisition of Tipton Jones in Salford in the mid 2010’s, a steel tube importer and distributor, added to the portfolio and allowed Shawston to create a steel tube processing facility – Shawston Steel Tube – their role is to service our 4 nationwide branches and allow us to actively manage the supply and demand requirements of the 4 market sectors in which we operate.
Today Shawston is a large UK-wide business, its evolution from 10 employees with annual sales of £750k to 120 strong employee owned company with sales approaching £25m is somewhat revolutionary.
With 5 nationwide depots in London, Manchester, Salford, Birmingham, and Glasgow our heritage and work ethic still play an important part in both our company strategy and the way we do business.
Shawston has evolved into a large UK nationwide business selling into the Mechanical Services, Commercial Fire, Dry/Wet Riser and Residential Fire market sectors.
The decision to become fully employee owned in 2015 was an important point in the history of Shawston. It signalled our intent to provide job security and wealth opportunities for the next generation of Shawston employee owners. And the next. And the next. By putting the business into the hands of the Shawston workforce in 2015 we have seen a huge transformation - loyal, committed co-owners with a true voice on how the company plans its future.
Today, we are a thriving business with over 100 employee owners, all committed to our goal of delivering unrivalled customer service and creating a forever Shawston.
“Shawston are wholly owned by its employee shareholders.”



In the beginning…
1970's









New ownership
2001
In 2001 Shawston was the subject of a MBI by the current management team. When acquired Shawston had an annual turnover of just £750k per year and employed 10 people out of a single depot in Hyde. It would be the great business minds of the founder members that would provide the strategy which would see the company blossom into the 120 people business it is today with an annual turnover of £25m.





Spreading our wings
2003
The founder owners quickly realised that London was a huge market and expanded Shawston into its second depot in Maidenhead. It rapidly outgrew the Maidenhead depot and is now located in a 28,000 sq m depot in the Sands Industrial Park in High Wycombe where it provides fire protection and mechanical services products to the south of England.









Modernising our operational platform
2009





Securing the tube supply chain
2010









Branching out across the border
2012





A truly national presence
2014









Creating a ‘Forever Shawston’
2015





From strength to strength
2020
Today Shawston are widely recognised as the ONLY UK SUPPLIER to service Mechanical Services Contractors, Commercial Fire Sprinkler Contractors, Dry and Wet Riser Contractors, and Residential Fire Contractors. With a thriving employee ownership culture, a young and dynamic leadership team that is the envy of our competition, and a strong balance sheet, the future for Shawston looks long and bright.

