History & Values

Almost three decades of decorating excellence

Swirlforce was founded in 1992 by Robert Perry and Richard Marriott. Building on an existing eight-year working relationship and a wealth of shared experience, the pair decided to combine forces to provide high-quality commercial, retail and industrial decorating services.

One of the first projects that put Swirlforce on the road to success was a contract with Alton Towers, where we redecorated kiosks and rides. Other assignments in our early days included decorating a number of settings from petrol stations to nursing homes, as well as a project involving six ASDA stores across the Midlands.  

Our small team of six decorators went on to work on multiple pubs for Mansfield Brewery, which led to further contracts, such as with JD Wetherspoon.

In 1998, we purchased our current offices, which gave us the space to grow to a team of 16 by the early 2000s. Operating our fleet of several branded vehicles meant we could start to work further afield, and, over the next few years, we completed projects for a number of hotels, including The Bellhouse at Beaconsfield and The Hilton on London’s Park Lane.

Further growth

A key contract win for Swirlforce was on the University of Derby’s Buxton Campus, which featured the world’s largest unsupported dome at that time. Our team dry-ice blasted the 560-tonne domed iron roof to remove a hundred years’ worth of grime before redecorating the whole structure. Further work on campuses followed, such as on 12 Derby University buildings that made up the Spa Campus.

In 2004, our partnership with Dulux led us to test new products, such as dry fall spray paint. As the first company in the UK to use this product, we applied it to thousands of square metres of ceiling in the 24hr Tesco in Solihull.

The following year brought another turning point for Swirlforce, as we were awarded a million-pound contract with Ashfield Homes to carry out one of the first kitchen and bathroom upgrade projects. This led to a spate of contract awards in the construction industry over the next 10 years.

Our work with universities and hotels continued over the coming years and, in 2009, we completed our biggest new hotel project to date at Grove Park, for Marriott Hotels. This was also the year we joined CHAS (The Contractors Health and Safety Assessment Scheme) and became one of the first painting contractors in the UK to achieve BSI-accredited management systems.

More recent times

Over the past decade, we have completed many council and government projects, and secured a contract worth a quarter of a million pounds a year for painting and decorating services in government properties along the south coast. 

Recurring contracts with schools, police stations and construction companies also make up a significant part of our client list today, and we continue to work with universities nationwide. 

Here are some of our key projects over recent years:

2013 – a sizeable new multi-storey concrete car park in the city of Leicester, where tens of thousands of square metres of paint were applied in a fraction of the anticipated time, using six spray pumps and several members of our team.

2014 – a five-year deal with Leicester Police for estate painting, and redecoration of Shakespeare Hall, which houses the office of the Vice Chancellor of the University of Nottingham.

2015 – estate painting for Lincoln University, Trent Bridge, Nottingham City HQ and a national performance venue in Doncaster. 

2016 – our largest French polishing project and restoration to date at the Defence and National Rehabilitation Centre (DNRC), and internal and external work at Chesterfield Council HQ. 

2017 – redecoration of two floors of suites of the Hyatt Regency prior to the American President’s visit.

2018 – redecoration of a large Premier Inn in Chesterfield.

2019 – work on a new six-floor academy in Nottingham, and the commencement of a project involving the largest Amazon distribution hub.

2020 – director retires after more than 40 years in the trade, win a place on DHL supply chain and completes national DWP estate rollout.

2021 – Our largest single-building painting project was completed in Swindon for £1.4m along with Microsoft Coventry’s new HQ.

2022 – 30 year anniversary – Virgin Atlantic Crawley, 3 mega warehouses Aylesbury, NatWest Aldershot.