A former financial crime specialist has swapped banking investigations for bespoke garden rooms after redundancy prompted him to build a new career from the ground up. So far the business has been a roaring success and they have landed projects worth between £20,000 and £150,000.
John McClelland, owner and founder of Glasgow-based Clever Built Cabins, spent more than 13 years with Santander. But his career changed without warning when the bank announced a major redundancy programme.
The news came as John and his partner Laura were preparing for the birth of their daughter Lily. With a highly specialised role and a growing family to support, he faced an uncertain future.
John said: “For the first time in my career, I genuinely didn’t know what came next. I had spent over a decade building financial security for my family and suddenly that felt uncertain.”
Redundancy revived a long-held ambition to start his own company.
The turning point came during a catch-up with his friend Gordon Campbell, co-founder of Glasgow-based digital advertising agency ClickBoost, alongside business partner Scott Beveridge. Rather than focus on John’s list of potential business ideas, Gordon asked what he enjoyed doing outside work.
John began talking about building a log cabin in the woods where he and his family spend time together. His enthusiasm prompted Gordon to respond: “That’s it. Log cabins.”
John then began developing Clever Built Cabins during evenings and weekends while working his redundancy notice. He invested his savings in the company and set about learning a new trade, sourcing suppliers, managing imports and developing relationships across the sector.
Gordon’s company ClickBoost became Clever Built Cabins’ digital growth partner and helped John generate his first enquiries and secure his first customer within weeks. John said, “I was blown away by how the ClickBoost team managed to secure new opportunities so quickly. Working with a team of experts allowed me to cut out the guesswork out of marketing and advertising, while focusing on building garden rooms and keeping customers happy.”
Clever Built Cabins now designs and installs bespoke garden rooms and log cabins across Scotland, while also supplying cabins throughout the UK. Its buildings have been used as home offices, gyms, entertainment rooms, family spaces and commercial premises.
John commented: “Every customer and every project is different. We don’t want to force people into standard designs when something else could work better for them. We listen, adapt the building and create a space that fits what the customer actually needs”.
He now plans to grow the business, expand its team and create skilled jobs in the local area. John added: “Starting a business has brought plenty of challenges, but I’ve loved building something from the ground up.
“My ambition is to keep growing Clever Built Cabins, create exceptional spaces for our customers and build a company that my family can be proud.”
