25 years on, diamond logistics, born in Guildford Surrey, has become the fastest growing logistics company in the U.K., but as Kate says, ‘It’s taken us 25 years to be an overnight success.’
25 years ago Kate Lester launched Diamond Dispatch at 14a Woodbridge Road, Guildford at 20. With her first child on her way in the same week as her courier company the soon to be young Mum was working against the odds, regardless, she was ready to launch and launch she did. Getting started with Barlow’s solicitors as her first client – and still are today – and then picking up Oracle, Bracknell the business got off to a promising start.
Like a small yacht on the stormy seas of U.K. business, there were many sunny days, and many stormy ones. Our first fleet was far from glamorous, a less than salubrious mish mash of a D reg orange Astra Vans (called Jaffa) a jeep and a motorcycle but it was enough to Kate and the team going.
Four years on, still only at 24, as well as running Diamond day to day, Kate began to manage industry bodies like the Despatch Association, transforming members from 70 to 274+, founded I.T. companies such as DA Systems, and turned around courier and haulage companies that were struggling to succeed like Citybikes and Frederick Miller. Kate seemed to be commanding the way in the courier industry and businesses alike at such a young age.
Even though Diamond was relatively small, we kept our clients and team very happy, were always profitable and always had good sales.
Over the next few years, Kate saw a great deal of potential in collaborating to build Diamond. But the fit never seemed to be quite right. Despite this Kate persisted and after nearly 20 years, the introduction of the multicarrier element to the business with help from industry specialist Dan Allin, to give Diamond our unique three service offering – same day, overnight & international and storage and fulfilment. She decided to expand her business via a partnership model. Diamond was franchised and the business started to scale.
And Kate could do it her way. With collaborative working. “The best way to get what you want is to help others get what they want.” Kate knows that our success at Diamond is dependent on the success of YOU the clients. And so we work hard to deliver on customer goods making sure that your business stays sharp with the help of ours. It’s all about partnerships, specifically Shared Success. We WANT you to do well.
It’s a celebration of longevity since Diamond was founded all those 25 years ago, with a foundation in recession economics that a owner managed and run business has not only lasted 25 years but is the fastest growing logistics business in the UK.
Diamond’s entrepreneurial soul, has been the reason it’s been going for so long. There are hundreds and thousands of businesses out there waiting to be liberated from crappy couriers and we want to thank all of our clients for believing in us to do what we do best and help them grow. It’s taken time, patience and a lot of hard work but Diamond has finally got there, proving that we are the number one choice for logistics providers.
Kate said: “As Ray Kroc, founder of the McDonalds franchise says, his success finally at 52, was down to one thing. Persistence. Ditto Ray. Ditto.”
At Diamond, we are proud that our HQ still runs from Guilford, Surrey, where it all began. A shining example of a company that is a cut above the rest.
