JUST when others are thinking of retrenching, Buckden businessman Malcolm Colman has set up on his own account successfully selling and hiring out portable buildings. When his former employers moved off the site on the A1 from which they had operated a si

JUST when others are thinking of retrenching, Buckden businessman Malcolm Colman has set up on his own account successfully selling and hiring out portable buildings.

When his former employers moved off the site on the A1 from which they had operated a similar business, it was too good an opportunity to miss, he told The Hunts Post.

"I'm not doing too badly at all. We're not getting much demand from the building trade for obvious reasons, but there's a lot of interest from private individuals and others," he said.

"One client wanted a unit for over-wintering horses, and a hotel needed extra canteen space for its staff. And farmers are buying them for a variety of purposes."

Mr Colman, who was operations director with A1 Accommodation for 20 years previously, launched Maxispace in September. After just two months' trading it was too soon to try to predict his first year's turnover, "but we're doing all right".

"Organisations need quick, cheaper and sometimes temporary options more now than in times of plenty; and we can help them get the space they need without having to wait for builders - and at a lower cost. We sold the first portable building within days of beginning the business.

"It's good to be able to help people and there's a lot of need for temporary office space as well as storage.

"We've got great suppliers who ensure the high standards we expect and can really provide a portable building to anyone's specification, complying with all current regulations too," he added. "I just happened to be in the right place at the right time."

INFORMATION: Maxispace is at Great North Road, Buckden PE19 5UL: telephone 07777 670856.