Business leader Charles Walton has told how he nurtured the growth of a multi-million-pound online shed retailer from scratch

A business leader has told how he built a multi-million-pound garden buildings company from scratch after his father decided to sell the century-old family business in the same sector.

Charles Walton had hoped to become the fifth generation to run his family’s shed manufacturing business but had to make other plans when his father and uncle decided to sell the company which their great grandfather has started way back in 1878.

Undeterred Charles launched Kybotech, his own e-commerce company, and with his family’s history there was only going to be one sector he was going to specialise in – garden buildings.

He launched his company back in 2000 but not everyone was convinced sheds would sell online and many tried to convince Charles his idea wouldn’t work. They advised that such a traditional item as a wooden garden building could only be sold in person.

Charles pressed on with his plans and later created the BillyOh garden buildings brand. He went on to build his own factory, creating a series of giant garden sheds to house the manufacturing equipment.

Now his company is recognised as a market leader in sheds and garden buildings with a turnover of £23m a year and more than 220 employees.

Today BillyOh operates from a 14-acre site in Nottinghamshire and sells more than 165,000 items online each year. It makes around one in every eight sheds sold in the UK.

The decision to sell online and to create his own manufacturing facility has clearly paid off for Charles who cites his family history of innovation as his inspiration.

His Victorian great-great-grandfather EC Walton was a lecturer in bee keeping who spotted a gap in the market for affordable hives. E C Walton & Co, the company he founded soon moved into garden buildings and became one of the UK’s leading shed manufacturers.

The company still trades today more than 140 years after it was founded but the family is no longer involved.

Instead Charles now owns one of the UK’s most successful online retail business and is seeking to expand into other areas of online e-commerce.

As well as BillyOh.com the company also sells its products through the specialist website GardenBuildingsDirect.co.uk.

The company has invested heavily in research and development leading to a series of innovations in the manufacturing process which have led to more choice than ever before for buyers of garden buildings.

This means they can offer their customers a range of options making an almost bespoke garden building available at a much lower cost than other manufacturers.

The dedication to innovation has also led to the use of timber pressure treatment in the manufacturing process which means the sheds are longer lasting and more durable.

And the online business model means they are able to offer a much wider variety of shed and garden building than would be possible in even the largest garden centre.