In the beginning…
It all started in Glasgow, back in 1969 when George Bell left school at the age of 14.
In 1971 his entrepreneurial spirit led him to a painting & decorating apprenticeship. At 16 he was dedicated to learning his craft and by 21 George was leading a team of 500 staff. Focused on gaining knowledge & experience to set up his own business.
Follow your dreams
George bought a 50% share in established company DC paints in 1984, working alongside his partner in the business Derek Collins. When making the move he managed to convince some of his colleagues, like Joe Woods, to join him to follow his dream, some of these decorators are still with us today. He was attracted to DC Paints because of the highly trained and quality workforce completing high end work at the time.
In 1985, Collins & Bell Ltd was established. They set up a new premises in Johnstone Street, Airdrie, where they built a reputation for good service as well as quality workmanship within West Central Scotland. The business started to diversify into different residential & commercial contracts.
1988 – A turning point
1988 was an important year for the growth & development of the business. Bell Decorating Group Ltd was established. Acquiring Collins & Bell to support a change in focus to the commercial sector. At the same time Bell completed another key acquisition,that of John Miller & sons. This strengthend the already established values of the Bell family by integrating another well respected family run business, est in 1875.
Bell Group became members of both the Scottish Decorators Federation (SDF) and The Painting & Decorators Association (PDA). Bell Group are the largest trade association in the painting & decorating industry. They have been committed to encouraging best practice across the industry since the late 19thCentury.
A decade of growth
Moving in to the 1990’s, the business continued to grow both organically as well as through acquisitions. Bell became a Dulux trade partner and our 100th apprentice qualified. They were also awarded an iSO 9001 at this time.
The business started to diversify across numerous sectors including healthcare, education, social housing, retail and leisure. As well as MOD and security services, historical buildings and local authority, industrial and of course multiple commercial contracts.
Bell Group UK launched
Bell Group UK was launched in 1999. We are considered a market leader and our Group remains a wholly owned and operated family business. Craig, Georges son, took over from his Dad George as CEO in 2017.
As an organisation we pride ourselves on more than just the finished product. We seek out business opportunities to build employee and community skills and are considered one of the largest employers of apprentices within the construction industry.
Specialising in what we do best
Demand has increased for a premium, quality painting and decorating service for the home. Paint my Home by bell is established as a stand alone specialist service for our residential customers.
Skilled and experienced decorators, local to your area and all directly employed by us. We provide a comprehensive range of interior and exterior painting and decorating services to a guaranteed outstanding finish. Established during the challenging early months of 2020, we are proud to have launched our residential painting and decorating service. We currently operate within London Boroughs, Hertfordshire, Glasgow & Edinburgh. We have plans to expand into neighbouring regions soon.
Today...
Bell now have 40 branches across the UK. Employing specialist teams in both the residential and commercial sectors.
12 Bell family members operate throughout the business and form an essential part of Bell Groups leadership team. Whilst continuing to maintain our family values & legacy. We have a long standing relationship with clients such as the National Trust and Royal Household. Continually adapting to customer demand in the sector, we are always looking for ways to improve our customer experience by developing the way we do business.
