Boulders set goals high
Rob Lawrence and his business partner, Ollie Noakes opened Boulders eighteen months ago, with the aim of introducing the sport of climbing to a wider audience and, of course, establishing a successful business enterprise.
The indoor climbing centre located just off Newport Road in Cardiff has rapidly established itself as the premier indoor climbing venue in Wales – and one of only a handful operating to its scale and standard in the whole of the UK.
Thirty year-old Rob and Ollie, 25, met through their shared interest in climbing and have undertaken numerous expeditions together.
Rob is ex-Army, having spent 5 years serving as a member of the Parachute Regiment while Ollie comes from an Industrial Rope Access background that has natural synergy with the technical aspects of climbing.
In 2007, Rob left the Army and the duo, who had previously discussed the possibility of opening their own climbing centre, decided to follow the idea through.
Rob says:
“It was actually on the way back from one of our climbing trips that Ollie and I thrashed out the basics of a business plan – over a Burger King in some far flung motorway services as I recall!
“But from then, it was full steam ahead and we really have achieved a lot in the last two and a half years – and even moreso in the last eighteen months.
“We’d already invested financially separately in property in London – Ollie’s originally from Wimbledon and I’m from Surrey – and decided the best option would be to sell up and use the combined capital to relocate to a suitable area where we thought the business would have the best chance of succeeding.”
Once the decision had been made, Rob & Ollie began to properly research their market and potential locations and Cardiff won for three main reasons – a rapidly developing city, no climbing facilities to speak of and the potential to seek financial support and practical business advice from the numerous Welsh Assembly Government business development grant and support schemes.
Having secured funding to the tune of just over £1/2 million – a combination of private investors, Finance Wales and a Natwest bank loan – Boulders opened its doors in
August 2008, on time and under budget.
The business turned over just under £70,000 in its first month and has steadily grown since – it’s now regularly enjoyed by over 4,000 people monthly.
Boulders attracts a wide audience of clients – from children looking to have their first attempt at climbing a wall to adult novices, students, experienced climbers and the corporate training and self development market.
“We really do offer an awesome alternative form of exercise compared to the more traditional gym based activities. Boulders is fantastic for anybody who might be looking to try their hand at climbing and we’ve stayed true to our original ethos – to open up climbing as a sport to as wide an audience as possible,” says Rob.
“The Weekend and after-school clubs are very popular with youngsters but we also have an increasing corporate training following. Through Boulders Peak Performance, we provide development facilities for organisations, training providers, recruiters and the like, with a specially designed range of proven physical activities which we map to their delivered training programmes, hopefully adding value through the benefits of experiential learning. It’s a growing sector but of course we’d like to grow it more.”
Boulders now employs a total of fifteen full-time staff and between ten-fifteen part-time team members at any time.
Although Rob and Ollie are themselves keen climbers and both qualified instructors, they are very focused on the business objectives they have clearly set out to achieve – that is to make Boulders a multi-site UK-wide brand.
“We love what we do and are lucky to work in an environment we’re so comfortable with but at the end of the day, this is a business and our futures depend on its success. We’ve set everything up so that it can be easily replicated and the plan now is to very much continue to build on what we’re doing here in Cardiff until we’re in a position to introduce Boulders to an even wider market.”
Tags: Boulders, climbing centre, Ollie Noakes, Rob Lawrence
