The Soper plumbing business was originally founded in 1850 by Henry Soper on the Barbican in Plymouth.

Soper: A trusted family name you can rely on.
With thanks to a local historian we have revealed that The Soper family plumbing business was originally founded in 1850 by Henry Soper on the Barbican in Plymouth. The Soper’s plumbing legacy has moved from father to son through six generations and is now finally being operated in and around the Plymouth area by Marc Soper. Marc is a fully qualified plumbing and heating engineer with vast experience in all elements of the building industry.

The Soper Family History of Plumbers

Established in 1850, Soper's is the family name you can trust and rely on in the plumbing and heating industry.

How small Barbican workshop grew into one of city’s most established firms.

Soper Plumbing & Heating has been in the same family for seven generations and does everything from property renovations to heating systems, and plumbing to replacement boilers.

THERE can be few family-run companies with a success story spanning seven generations.

Celebrating more than a century- and-a-half as a successful business, Soper Plumbing & Heating has a history of which it can be very proud.

The firm has an impressive portfolio spanning a HomeCare cover plan, building and renovation devision as well as the original core service of plumbing and heating.

Launched around 1850 from a workshop on the Barbican, it has expanded and evolved down the decades to its present purpose-built headquarters on the banks of the river Plym.

Today it is proudly run by Marc Russell Soper – great, great, great grandson of founder Henry Soper. Henry not only started the family plumbing enterprise but also ensured the family history under- foot by laying some of the Barbican cobbles.

Marc reflects with pride how the company is a beacon of excellence through constant development and customer service.

Down the generations the business expanded from the Barbican into nearby Notte Street, opening a haberdashery shop and an adjacent hardware shop.

“My father took charge of the business at the young age of 22 in 1962

on the death of his father,” says Marc. A keen rugby player, his dad was captain of Plymouth Albion for six years.
“At the time, London Irish was the premier team and they wanted my

dad to play for them. But my grand- father had passed away and dad’s priority was the business.”

In 1973, Soper Plumbing & Heating relinquished its Barbican roots and relocated to Plymstock. Marc came into the family business in 1996, having left Plymouth College and done an apprenticeship with Johnson and Baxter.

“My father always said, ‘You should never ask a man to do a job

that you can’t do yourself.’ ”With his father at the helm of the plumbing and heating side, Marc began developing a building and maintenance division.

“One major contract was with a company called Calortex, one of the first contenders to compete with British Gas in annual service and breakdown contracts.”

A further development came in 1997 when Marc focused on their property renovation and the development side – buying a property, refurbishing it and then selling it on.

Around this time Marc’s father gave him funds to up-grade his company car. But instead, Marc used half the money to set up the UK’s first online plumbing and heating website.

“One of our carpenters was doing an evening class in HTML for website development, and he convinced me it was the future,” says Marc.

While many people initially remarked that this was a waste of time and money, and that the internet would never take off, it went on to prove its worth with an annual turnover of £12m, and 15 years down the line, in 2013, it was sold to Wolseley plc. Because the Soper family had pursued other goals, the plumbing name was dropped in favour of online industry and property development. Various successes were built on and with the families development on the Hoe winning an award for best renovated property in the Westcountry.

However it was after Marc’s father died in 2015 that he reinstated the

name. “He was a great friend, business partner and best dad.

“He was a very popular guy and a number people said you cannot let your family plumbing name die with your father,” says Marc.

“It was something that was always in the back of my mind and, about three months later, I decided to do it.” Today, the Soper Plumbing and Heating team embraces everything from property renovations to heating systems, plumbing, boiler servicing and replacement boilers.
In September 2018, Marc discovered there is a real need for a local independent HomeCare provider for boiler, plumbing and heating breakdown cover.

“We launched the policy because the people of Plymouth deserve more from their contracts. We are very competitively-priced and we treat our customers as customers – and not just policy numbers,” he says.

“I want the people of Plymouth to know we are a family of seven generations who have a history in dealing with customers.

“I believe in providing a first class service and building relationships with our customers – not only in plumbing and heating sector but also on building and development projects.

“With everything I do I like to be unique. It’s all about good service and expectations, both of which my team and I thrive on.”

With seven generations of Sopers in the business, you can guarantee Marc is a man of his word.

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