|
Fallout from the credit crunch in the property and construction sector is rife with company administrations, redundancies and profit warnings all becoming familiar news.
However, national property and construction consultancy Wakemans is bucking the industry trend with the announcement that they have acquired a small specialist QS firm with a view to growing both businesses in some key recession proof markets.
Wakemans has acquired the Quinton based practice of Allsebrook & Hadley, which has been established for seventy years and has built a substantial client base, including those in the specialist education, arts and leisure sectors.
Former Allsebrook & Hadley partners Lionel Martin and John Roberts believe that providing a bespoke personal service is the key to repeat business and a formula for success for the future.
“The construction industry has always been cyclical with some sectors more susceptible to the downturns than others. The current conditions are typical with the house builders suffering the most as mortgage lending falls and sales of new homes plummet,” said Lionel. “Typically firms look to the public sector to provide alternative work when times are tough, but it is not always possible to tap into these sectors.
“Much of the £30bn that the government spends on construction is locked up in framework agreements which are ongoing and not open to retender for another 3/5 years. Firms that try to switch from private to public will find it a long slow process, especially the smaller ones as the trend is for work to be let in larger and larger packages.
“Allsebrook and Hadley has focused on building strong relationships and expertise with clients and organisations, including those that provide specialist care and education facilities and those in the leisure and arts sectors,” he said.
The latest statistics from the industry reinforce the falling levels of demand from the private sector. The latest Construction Products Association trade survey published with the Construction Confederation in May said that the slowdown was set to continue. The report stated that the hardest hit were those sectors involved in private housing and industrial activity, whilst work in public sector infrastructure, health and education has remained active.
The RICS UK economic brief published in June said that total new orders in the residential and commercial property sectors is falling year-on-year and are now below their level at the start of 2006. The latest RICS global commercial property survey shows that tenant demand turned negative in the first quarter of 2008 for the first time in four years.
Lionel is convinced that the need for core QS skills will increase during a downturn as controlling cost becomes even more important to the success of a project.
He says: “Clients are facing the uncertainties in the market as well as rising construction costs from a number of legislative and environmental factors such as BREEAM ratings and energy performance certificates. We need to be able to balance the costs with our clients’ objectives and the need to produce environmentally sound buildings. We are developing a number of services with Wakemans that will help clients deal with these issues.
“Wakemans has built its business on being able to provide total solutions for its clients - really understanding their needs and commercial constraints and offering services that provide tangible benefits. This is a philosophy that we understand and so the business fit of traditional services with tailored solutions is good for both companies.”
Wakemans managing director John Woodhall comments: “We have known Allsebrook & Hadley for many years and Lionel worked for Wakemans in the 1980s. The acquisition provides an ideal opportunity to broaden our client base in a number of specialist and strategic areas and to offer a wider range of services to Allsebrook & Hadley’s clients.”
The Allsebrook and Hadley business name will be retained by Wakemans. Lionel becomes a divisional director and John Roberts takes on a senior executive role; the business has relocated to Wakemans’ head office in Edgbaston.
“This move will allow us to continue providing the personalised service that our clients, fellow consultants and contractors are accustomed to, with the added benefits that come from being an integral part of a large and highly successful construction consultancy,” adds Lionel.
“Our clients such as Options Group, a leading provider of specialist education and care services across the UK, are delighted with the move to Wakemans. They realise that we will be stronger and more able to service their needs with the additional resources and skills now available to us.”
Recent Allsebrook & Hadley projects include a care home for Guildcare in Chipping Campden, a sixth form centre upgrade at NE Worcs College and Forest Green Rovers FC’s new £4m stadium in Nailsworth.
The company is also currently providing quantity surveying services on a prestigious new £3m headquarters building for BID Services with Deaf People (the Birmingham Institute for the Deaf) in Ladywood, Birmingham. The scheme incorporates the UK's first Deaf Cultural Centre, bringing together and celebrating diverse elements of the deaf community and deaf culture under one roof.
|
