About Us

Our Values

• People Centric

  We are not different people at work and at home; theres a human behind every job title and we give everyone the opportunity to bring all of themselves to work.

  Each person has their unique set of personal and professional qualities, and our culture allows everyone to thrive, to be their best, and to have fun.

• We're Connected

  We all belong in this organisation; we feel accepted and valued. As a result, we all understand our purpose in the business and how important it is. We are connected by a common goal, working together to achieve our core vision and mission.

  As a result, we communicate and collaborate more; we are engaged
  and we are connected to each other and our customers.

• We're Dependable

  We count on each other to do the job on time and to the best of our ability.

  We are accountable and reliable. Our customers depend on us to deliver every single day; we don't let them down.

• We get stuff done

  We're agile, quick and decisive. We adapt rapidly to internal changes and market dynamics.

  We measure impact and outcome, not just activity. We deliver on time in every aspect of our role.

• We're Dynamic

  We encourage and enable everyone to bring their strengths to the table, creating an energy and a passion that produces exceptional results.

  We're adaptable and creative and we are given the opportunity to find solutions, improve processes and drive innovation.

Our History

1981

SMI was founded in 1981 by Paul Prisgrove, who left school and started selling gloves from his garden shed. It wasn’t long before he started making glove deliveries in South East London in his car, which he purchased shortly after leaving school.

1989

Eight years on from when SMI was founded, the company acquired its first business premises in School Road, Hampton Hill, Richmond.

1994

SMI relocated its premises to Chiddingfold (Surrey).

2001

Due to business growth and being awarded some large contracts, including Co-operative Food, SMI took on a new warehouse in Haslemere (Surrey).

2007

Following extensive growth, SMI purchased some land in 2006 and built its first purpose-built 7,000 sq ft head office and distribution facility in Haslemere (Surrey). SMI moved into this new facility (Corporate House) in 2007.

2012

By 2012, SMI’s revenue had doubled since 2007. Therefore, it took on an extra warehouse in the same estate as Corporate House. This provided an additional 18,000 sq ft of space.

2017

2017 was a landmark for SMI. The company was growing at such a rate it could no longer efficiently operate from Haslemere due to space limitations. After months of talking to estate agents, they finally took on the Kites Croft National Distribution Centre in Fareham (Hampshire) which today gives us 50,000 sq ft of storage space.

2019

SMI made its first acquisition, acquiring Nusafe Limited which was located in Newcastle. Nusafe served some large blue-chip clients in the North East which further enhanced SMI’s portfolio and increased our market share in the North.

2021

SMI made a significant acquisition in Swift360, a well-established family-owned PPE/Workwear company based in Alton (Hampshire). Swift360’s client portfolio includes Biffa, John Lewis, Serco and many other large organisations.

2022

SMI acquired a new 15,000 sq ft corporate head office (Vision House) in Petersfield (Hampshire) which is spread over two floors.

2024

SMI made it's third significant acquisition in Lion, a well-established family-owned workplace supplier company based in Falkirk, Scotland.

2025

SMI made its fourth acquisition in Contego Solutions, a family-owned workwear and safety supplier based in West Sussex.