STAFF at a building contractor firm are celebrating after it entered the top 30 fastest-growing private and independent companies in the Thames Valley.

And what's more, R W Armstrong & Sons, which is headquartered in Sherborne St John, is going into next year with Investor in People status and a strong forward order book worth £12million in contracts.

Turnover at R W Armstrong has been surging upwards over the last couple of years.

Four years ago, it was £4.5m. It hit £10.5m in 2003, and this year has cracked the £12m barrier.

Managing director Nigel Armstrong said: "With a £12m order book, next year's turnover is sorted out."

Currently the company is working on 20 sites with contract values ranging from £200,000 to £3.5m, including the £2m refurbishment of a Grade I listed building in Winchester for a private client.

The company was founded nearly 50 years ago by Roy Armstrong, grandfather of the current managing director.

His father, Brian, and uncle, Colin, continued the family business before handing over the reins to Nigel in 2000.

R W Armstrong specialises in building one-off upmarket houses and in refurbishing and renovating older buildings, especially listed ones.

Mr Armstrong said: "The reputation on which our company has been built over the past 50 years has not been down to good fortune, but hard work.

"My aim is to capitalise on our high standing and take the idea of quality and integrity in a small family building company as far as it will go."

The company's placing at 30 in the top companies in the Thames Valley came from a report by BDO Stoy Hayward, and Mr Armstrong sees the firm moving forward with organic growth and a concentration on prestigious projects.

Many of the 130 employees at R W Armstrong have followed their father's footsteps into the firm, and ex-apprentices have stayed on at the business and have now become site managers.

The Investor in People status shows the high priority given to training skills within the company, which currently has 20 apprentices on its books.

Mr Armstrong said: "The only way we can expand realistically is to train our own people as we look to the longer term.

"Without our staff, we have nothing.

"We could not even tender for the contract because we would not have the range of skills required to deliver.

"We have always employed our trades people and only use sub-contractors for specialist roles, many of whom have been with us for over 20 years.

"In that way we have real control over the quality of what we produce and our success in gaining further work through recommendation speaks volumes."