A Skelmorlie company has grand plans to expand after being crowned the winner of an Ayrshire-wide award.

Maple Maintenance Ltd is a property and garden maintenance company based in the village, and was crowned the winner of this year’s Build Ayrshire Programme.

Run by hub South West Scotland, the programme offers businesses in the construction sector the opportunity to gain valuable advice and support from industry experts.

The free eight-week programme comprised weekly sessions focusing on themes including developing a strategy, navigating procurement and finance, and creating social media plans.

Maple Maintenance, run by Malcolm Duncan, offers full property maintenance for local authorities, landlords and homeowners, as well as landscaping and gardening services and ad hoc support.

Malcolm admits the programme has been hugely valuable for the company, and has revealed they plan to expand their offering even further on the back of their award win.

He explained: “We launched Maple Maintenance in 2014 and have gradually grown into a successful Ayrshire business.

“We have always had ambitions to grow even further but I realised to do this we needed some help to refresh our business strategy and priorities.

“From the very first session, the Build Ayrshire programme was helpful and we were able to make changes almost immediately.

“The weekly sessions were a great opportunity to network with fellow Ayrshire businesses, as well as Tier 1 contractors who we will hopefully be able to build good relationships with.

“We are now building our strategy for expansion, with plans to introduce new products and services, recruit and enhance our online presence.

“Winning this award has renewed our confidence and ambition to build a really successful business here in Skelmorlie.”

Mark Houston, from hub South West Scotland, says Maple really stood out from the rest of the businesses taking part.

He said: “Malcolm, Rachel and Carl from Maple Maintenance were able to effectively demonstrate and articulate how they benefitted from every session of the Build Ayrshire programme.

“It’s fantastic to see how the support and insight they received will help re-shape their strategy and achieve their goal of winning more commercial contracts.  

“The quality and commitment of this year’s Build Ayrshire participants was outstanding and we thoroughly enjoyed working with them.

“We were delighted to present this award to Malcolm and his team who were very worthy winners.”

Judge Janice Russell, managing director of McTaggart Construction, added: “Maple Maintenance was a real stand out candidate.

“They were clearly able to demonstrate what they had learned from the programme and how they had immediately applied changes to the business.

“There was also a clear plan in place for their future growth which was really exciting to see, while the enthusiasm they felt was evident and the benefits to their business really shone through.”

Any businesses who are interested in taking part in one of hub SW’s Build programmes should email Mark Houston at mhouston@hubsouthwest.co.uk.