LDC Top 50 2024
Robert Oates
Founder and CEO
Arbtech
Robert Oates founded Chester-based Arbtech in 2006 after dropping out of university. The business provides next-day ecology surveys in an industry where rivals take weeks or months. Employing more than 130 people, mostly working remotely, his consultancy is targeting £100m in turnover by 2029.
The former infantry soldier credits his competitive nature for his entrepreneurial success: “I’m a driven and ambitious person who constantly aspires to be better and do more,” he says. Alongside his business success, Oates is a heavyweight gold-medallist in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and a Royal Chartered Biologist. He says: “If I want something, there’s no one out there that can outwork me.”
I’m a driven and ambitious person who constantly aspires to be better and do more.”
Q&A
Why did you create Arbtech?
When I was young, I wanted to be a Royal Marines Officer, but I failed all my A-Levels. I ended up doing a course in arboriculture because I thought I’d spend all day wielding a chainsaw and riding around on a quad bike. However, when I found myself chopping down trees and hauling logs in all weathers for £4.60 an hour, I knew I needed to do something else. After starting Arbtech, I realised quickly that my passion and talents were better suited to growing the business than doing the surveys, so I began hiring people, and investing our profits back into the business.
Tell us about your darkest hour in business?
Before Lehman Brothers collapsed, the business was doing well. We had our own office and had grown to around 10 people. The credit crunch impacted our customers massively, so our work pipeline disappeared. I had to let almost everyone go and move the business back into my spare room. That experience was incredibly painful but taught me a great deal.
What’s the secret to your success?
In 2010 I started an MBA and learned that the two most powerful things in business are strategy and culture. Back then, I had neither. I redesigned the business from the ground up in 2012, focusing our services narrowly and making speed our competitive advantage. Arbtech’s culture now allows staff the freedom to work when and how they want, and offers second-to-none perks, which means we have almost zero churn, happy customers, and a very profitable business. We were named one of The Sunday Times Best Places to Work this year, too.
