£4m dividend for Mullins as Arctic spell boosts firm
FREEZING weather is ‘good for business’, multi-millionaire plumber Charlie Mullins said this weekend after receiving a £3.8million dividend.
The founder of Londonbased Pimlico Plumbers told The Mail on Sunday the snow is a ‘great boost’ because of all the frozen pipes that need fixing.
‘If I’m honest, I’d rather it was just normal [weather], as there are a lot of staff who can’t get into the call centre and our plumbers are doing too many hours, but we can’t knock it and we’re making the most of it.’
Mullins was upbeat after accounts just filed revealed an 18 per cent jump in sales for the year ending May 31, 2017, to £34.3 million, while pre-tax profits rose to £5.1million from £4.6million.
As the sole shareholder, Mullins picked up the whole of the £3.8million dividend.
‘We worked very hard last year and we’re very happy with the end result,’ he said.
Having recently announced that he is looking to sell around 20 per cent of Pimlico Plumbers, Mullins is sifting through interest from outside investors and hopes to raise £20million to invest in the company, doubling the number of its vans and its workforce and possibly expanding to other UK cities.
‘We’re a real company which makes real profits,’ he said. ‘People think I’m a bit flamboyant but at the end of the day we talk with our money.’
Mullins is awaiting a decision in a Supreme Court battle over whether his plumbers are entitled to employees’ rights such as sick pay and holiday pay. The verdict from the Supreme Court is expected in the next few months.