Wildgoose Construction
Currently enjoying year on year increasing turnover for the last four years family owned building contractor Wildgoose Construction anticipates further growth in 2017
Building on strengths
Currently enjoying year on year increasing turnover for the last four years family owned building contractor Wildgoose Construction anticipates further growth in 2017
Derbyshire based Wildgoose Construction has developed a reputation as a hugely successful construction firm that is capable of delivering high quality solutions to customers in sectors such as retail, healthcare, education, housing, industrial and commercial, public sector and leisure, since its inception 120 years ago. “Wildgoose Construction was founded by the great Grandfather of the current Chairman Jonathan Wildgoose in 1896. Today the activities of the company are quite diverse as we work largely in sectors such as education, which predominantly involves newbuild junior primary schools, and colleges, industrial, for which we recently completedan £8.6 million project for British car auctions, care homes and extra care. We are also involved in building medical centres, and recently completed two fire stations; additionally, we partner with Marston’s, which means we are involved in newbuild pub and lodge projects,” explains Mark Winstanley, Construction Director at Wildgoose Construction.
Renowned for delivering awardwinning solutions, Wildgoose Construction’s recent wins include Avivico’s ‘Built in Quality’ award in the Healthcare – New Build category 2015 for the construction of the £7.5 million Hawthorns Retirement Development in Aldridge. The care home was originally built for the Restful Homes Group, Surrey, and is a highly sophisticated and wellplanned building.
Since then, the company has been involved in increasingly larger and more complex projects, such as the delivery of a £7.8 million Eden Place Langley Court Extra Care Facility in St Ives, Cambridge, for the Luminous Group. “The St Ives Extra Care building has been nominated for awards already and shows that we are capable of securing and delivering larger projects,” says Mark. Completed in just over 69 weeks, the facility is a stunning and distinctive curved three wing plan building that is formed in structural steelwork with curtain walling and cladding. Boasting 55 extra care apartments, a restaurant, lounge, hairdressers and therapy rooms, the facility was also built to BREEAM Very Good accreditation and is compliant with the Housing Quality indicators Building for Life 12 and Lifetime Homes Standards.
Having achieved year-on-year record turnover over the last four years, Wildgoose Construction anticipates more of the same in 2017 thanks to the company winning several major contract awards such as a £3.7 million new build teaching block and study centre for St Joseph’s College in Stoke, the Ian Burton Sports centre for Rotherham’s Brinsworth Academy and the £3 million two storey office and valet building for British Car Auctions Ltd in Bedford. Additionally, the company is also working with Marston’s on the construction of pubs in locations such as Runcorn, Nottingham and Nantwich while also developing and constructing timber framed lodges in Blackburn and Worksop.
Another major project for the company is the cornerstone redevelopment of the Square Chapel in Halifax, which involves a £5.2 million extension onto the building, which is believed to be the last remaining square church in England. Providing a 100-seat auditorium and a café/ bar, the building will join Square Chapel to the iconic Piece Hall. “The redevelopment of the Square Chapel involves the construction of a theatre in the form of a concrete structure that is copper clad on the outside with associated curtain walling, the glazing of which incorporates specialist glass artwork. It has taken a while to build and has had a number of knock-on delays as we exhumed a number of graves during the project. It was a 71 week project initially and is now due to be completed in April 2017,” says Mark.
Elaborating on the reasons’ behind Wildgoose Construction’s ongoing success, Mark continues: “As a family company we provide our employees with a positive working environment that includes a shallow management structure and an open door policy ensuring our staff not only feel valued, but also that what they do is worthwhile, and appreciated. This way of working has resulted in a reliable and long-serving staff base that deliver customer-focused solutions to the sectors we operate in. Moreover, we have in-house design and build professionals who are BREEAM accredited to ensure we stay abreast of innovation and buildability in projects. We also have a substantial database of modern products and suppliers enabling us to buy competitively and thus be more competitive ourselves.”
Not a company to rest on its laurels, Wildgoose Construction has made the strategic decision to further boost its competitiveness with the launch of a new division, Wildgoose Homes. With Jonathan Wildgoose at the helm, Wildgoose Homes benefits from the four generations of experience within the company’s history as it delivers superbly designed houses that clients will be proud to call home. “Within Wildgoose Homes we are able to acquire land, to develop our high quality homes. We are currently on site with 32 homes in Wessington, Derbyshire, which is progressing well; we have also taken reservations on a number of the properties here already. We are not seeking to run a large number of home development projects at the same time, but instead have them running continually as we move forward,” says Mark.
Having recently entered into BIM Level 2, the company will be focused on delivering at least one project on this level shortly, whilst keeping a particular focus on housing, over the next 12 months. However, as the care, education and retail markets continue to grow, Wildgoose anticipates further growth in these sectors over the coming years. “We are focusing on controlled growth, quality and staff retention through a stable working environment that, in turn, will result in a better performance. Customer satisfaction is also something we will target heavily over the next few years to increase the likelihood of repeat business,” Mark concludes.
Wildgoose Construction
Services: Building contractor