A construction materials supplier is poised to agree a management buyout this autumn as its founder prepares for retirement.

Tipper business Ardula is in the legal process of handing over the reins to its managing director Ricky Hemmings and his colleagues Phil Brasier and Carl Brotherwood.

They will take over from owner Martin Dace, who began trading in 1993 with one lorry from a base in Lamberhurst, near Tunbridge Wells. Today, it has more than 50 vehicles.

Initially Mr Hemmings was brought in 14 months ago to lead a sale of the business, which has been based in Laddingford, near Maidstone, since 1997. Plans changed shortly after he took up his role.

Mr Hemmings said: “We realised the best thing was to work on a management buyout, which would offer a legacy to the whole team.

“If we went down the sale route, the new owner may have had its own accounts department, for example.

“This means the existing business structure will stay in place and it provides long-term security to the drivers and staff. That is how Martin saw it.”

Ardula – which carries sand, gravel, topsoil and disposes of waste – has already been through a busy few years.

It acquired family haulage business Presneill in 2013, adding 15 aggregate haulage vehicles to its fleet and a network of suppliers throughout London and the Home Counties.

“It is my job to drive the business forward and make sure the management buyout is a success...” - Ricky Hemmings, Ardula

Earlier this year, it bought Mantransco, a small business running a fleet of 13 rigid vehicles with Hiab cranes and drawbar trailers.

Mr Hemmings said: “Although the business is Sussex-based we are using it to develop our Kent business.

“We are using it to improve what we are doing locally. It’s another aspect of construction which we now do.”

Mr Hemmings has worked in the construction industry in Kent for 25 years, including 16 years at GSE Group, where he was managing director of its haulage division for 10 years.

He will lead the business strategically while day-to-day operations are managed by Mr Brasier, an employee for 15 years, and Mr Brotherwood, who came over to the business when it acquired Presneill.

The takeover comes after a 9.5% decline in turnover to £7.6m in the year to September 2015, although a fall in pre-tax profits was down to a waiver of debts boosting its accounts for 2014 after the Presneill acquisition.

It aims to move into specialist contamination haulage and increase its recycling capability.

Mr Hemmings said: “It is my job to drive the business forward and make sure the management buyout is a success.”

Britain’s construction sector is officially in recession after house building and infrastructure output declined in the second quarter of the year, according to the Office for National Statistics.

However, business in Kent has actually increased in the two months since the EU referendum for Ardula.

Mr Hemmings said: “It’s never been a better time. Money is cheap to borrow so we can run the business with a safe borrowing platform.

“One of our key clients, Bellway, have said there has been no Brexit impact and Bovis recently put out results saying there is no Brexit impact.

“It seems to be affecting big government-funded infrastructure projects and schemes in London which are funded by big international pension funds, which are holding off to see how the market changes.

“There has been a tail off of construction in London but in Kent there is an air of positivity.”