October 2009

Keeping the Home Fires Burning - Kindles New Growth for Freeman Forestry

Enterprising Richard Freeman has seen his fledgling forestry business double in the last eighteen months despite the recession.

He launched Freeman Forestry in 2007 mainly to supply logs for wood burning stoves and open fires in homes around Herefordshire and Gloucestershire.  But Richard, aged 22, was soon receiving requests from householders to remove problem trees and vegetation and provide pruning and other wood related assistance.

“The business literally just started to grow and so for the past 18 months we have been busy expanding our services and growing with it,” he said. Now Freeman Forestry employs a three-strong team engaged in fuel distribution, tree surgery, woodland and field edge management and other related services.  “We delivered around one hundred tonnes of seasoned and barn dried firewood in our first season but we are on course to do some 700 tonnes this winter,” said Richard.  “We receive a lot of enquires through word-of-mouth but now we are also planning to expand our outlets to include more garage forecourts and other retail sites,” he said.

Richard is the youngest son of Mervyn & Jenny Freeman and the brother of Luke Freeman, who have built up the highly successful M F Freeman, a property, leisure and contracting group of companies over the past 40 years.

Now Richard has added a forestry division to the group demonstrates that he is clearly a chip off the enterprising family block!