How Cara Group’s ongoing success empowers it to support local communities
Through its subsidiaries, the award-winning Cara Group provides a wide range of construction services. Comprised of Cara Construction, Cara Brickwork, Cara Concrete Flooring, Cara Demolition, Cara Civil Engineering and Cara Nuclear, the business can accommodate complex projects, meet clients’ needs and address a range of challenges.
The current refurbishment and expansion of The Mere Resort, a five-star golf and spa resort, provides a great example of the kind of complex and intricate work Cara excels at. The renovation project involves upgrading all 87 existing guest rooms and adding another 29 across the main building as well as a new build extension, bringing the total number of rooms to 116. A new entrance and reception will be created in the main building, with new kitchens also being added. The conference centre will be expanded with a two-storey extension and a new golf pavilion will be added to serve users of the 18-hole championship-level course. It will also be home to a new Peruvian restaurant. The project will involve intricate masonry including stone heads, sills, copings and features like the famous stone cupolas, all of which will be made to match the existing iconic buildings. 
Flexible approach
With a wealth of experience across the industry and a highly skilled workforce, Cara group is able to be flexible, adapting to the needs of each project. As well as perfectly matching extensions with existing established aesthetics the business is also adept at constructing medical and scientific buildings. Indeed, it has recently won a contract for the masonry in a £24 million project to construct a surgical neo-natal intensive care unit on behalf of Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust. The state-of-the-art Surgical NICU will be the first of its kind in the country, providing family-integrated care and a safer service for babies. It will feature 22 neonatal cots and 18 individual family rooms where parents can stay while their babies are receiving expert care. On the ground floor of the facility will be the same day emergency care centre, bringing together the skills and expertise of paediatricians, emergency care clinicians, advanced clinical practitioners, primary care and family support workers. The main masonry works will commence in late January, with the main project set to be completed in Autumn 2025.
Community work
In line with the company’s broader commitment to the communities it operates within Cara Brickwork will be collaborating with Liverpool in Work to provide unemployed local residents with opportunities to move into employment. The business also supports local community groups. In 2024 Cara became the Gold Award sponsor for Ashton Central Swimming Club, a group run entirely by volunteers supporting children ages 4-18 to develop their swimming and compete in team and individual events across the region. Cara also supports various activities with charities including Macmillan, Francis House Children’s Hospice, The Good Life Orphanage, State of Mind, and Salford Food Bank.
Cara Group also has an initiative with Thorn Cross Prison providing inmates with real opportunities for the future. Having installed training rigs and providing Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) accredited courses the scheme ensures prisoners are ‘work ready’ upon release. It also offers real world experience through a Release on Temporary Licence process, allowing prisoners to work on-site. This real-world training and the opportunity to have a secure job upon release gives these individuals a genuine second chance, and goes a long way to rehabilitating offenders, thereby reducing recidivism. Managing Director Neil Allen has been instrumental to this initiative, dedicating his time to talk to prisoners about what employers are looking for and providing interviews. The scheme is a further testament to the organisation’s dedication to creating a positive impact on the broader community.
Award winners
Personal development is a theme that is supported across the Group. Over its 21 years of history, Cara Group has trained more than 100 apprentices. The company has cemented this commitment by launching the Future Skills Apprenticeship Programme, partnering with Keyfix who specialise in non-combustible cavity solutions and provide supplemental training, creating a more holistic programme. Apprentices get the opportunity to work on existing and upcoming projects and learn to use the most cutting-edge tools and technologies, ensuring they enter the workforce with the experience and expertise they will need to flourish. The scheme also ensures the future workforce have the skills to keep up with technological advancements as they emerge.
This inculcates an expertise within the organisation that is recognised across the industry, not just by way of winning large contracts, but also through industry awards. As the recipient of both the prestigious Association of Brickwork Contractors Award for Commitment to Training and Development, and the Subcontractor of the year Award, Cara Group stands as an example of excellence, determined to build not just a successful business but an enriched society at the same time.