About Us
Ben Whistler was founded in 1999 by the brothers Ben and Sebastian de Groot. Ben had been working in the Alps and Sebastian had completed his MBA at INSEAD in France, and after a short spell at PWC the two decided to set up their own company.
Ben was not new to the business, as he had learnt much from his mother about the care and restoration of old furniture, and had funded his time at university by making and selling furniture on a small scale via his first business called "The Stool Company". Sebastian had previously run a successful Ski Holiday business in Morzine, but was keen on setting up a business in London.
In 1999 they rented their first arch on the London Stone Business Estate, off the Queenstown Road, in Battersea, and the company has remained here throughout its growth. The company started out by supplying a select group of Interior designers, and this market has always been the focus of the business. Over the years the company expanded to its current level of approximately 40 employees and now has about 15,000 square feet of workshop space.
Chris Hocking joined in late 2005 and Tony Hocking joined in 2006. The two brothers had run a company that designed and manufactured testing equipment for metal fatigue, used primarily in jet engines and automotive construction. This company, Hocking NDT, was subsequently sold to GE and became part of GE Inspection Technologies. After working the tie-in period after the sale, both the brothers joined Ben Whistler.
Ben and Tony had met at Warwick University in 1991, and had become friends there. Through this meeting everybody got to know each other and have been on various travels with each other. Ben, Sebastian and Tony also frequently take part in Triathlons, including Ironman UK for Ben and Sebastian and Ironman West Australia for Tony – they describe themselves as keen on the races, but hopeless at training.
In the past year the company has focussed on improving the speed of service to their clients, and also getting in contact with a wider variety of suppliers, so that more interesting and varied design briefs can be fulfilled. These have included metalwork (as seen on Christopher Dezille's feature chair at Decorex 2007), better materials (as seen in their expanding Leather and materials range) and even crystal.
Increasingly Ben Whistler has been asked to supply for Hotel, Bar and Restaurant contracts. It has been noticeable that specifiers for these contracts are becoming increasingly discerning about the design and quality of the furniture in this market, and Ben Whistler have been pleased to supply Interior designers and Architects working on these kind of projects.