Soben: How a small Scottish family firm became the fastest growing consultancy in construction

By Carl Brown2024-02-12T06:00:00

Soben now operates in 35 countries and is aiming to become a £100m-turnover firm within five years. Founder Scott Smyth tells Carl Brown all about the firm’s strategy and journey to date

What happens when a small Scottish family business expands and goes international? For starters, individuals are replaced by larger professional departments.

“My wife was the first person I sacked, it was detrimental to our relationship,” jokes Scott Smyth, co-owner of Soben, the fastest growing consultancy in construction.

In reality – his wife Michelle was not really “sacked” and still co-owns the business with Scott – the company had merely outgrown its reliance on Michelle to provide book-keeping services, so instead it installed a proper corporate finance department. But this illustrates some of the dilemmas that Soben is now facing.

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