Tom Geard and Simon Birchall from Equals will be attending CIH in Manchester this year, the leading conference for housing associations, local authorities, housebuilders, funders, contractors and advisors.

Attached is a brief summary of our expertise and capability in the sector.

The doors to the V&A Museum shop were open to the public last month after undergoing its £1.5 million redesign and transformation project to introduce a contemporary approach to retail, providing a more flexible, creative space. The well-lit new shop is located at the heart of its surrounding galleries and features industrial steel, bespoke ceramic tiles and wood, and incorporates the latest digital manufacturing and fabrication techniques.

Equals acted as project managers, and developed a procurement and delivery strategy that ensured the works were accomplished quickly during an exhibition changeover. We played a key role in ensuring that the designers produced information to support the alteration of the base build M&E as well as the fixtures and fittings, and we acted as contract administrator for the delivery.

Last month saw the successful completion of PedElle; a charity ride organised by Club Peloton to raise money for Coram, the UK’s oldest children’s charity.  Over 40 women from across the property industry took on the 3 day, 500km cycling adventure from Porto to Lisbon. Helen Gray returned triumphant and in one piece, despite facing a few obstacles along the way. The ride raised more than £35,000.

Helen says “It was a great experience meeting other successful women within the industry and having the opportunity to spend 3 days getting to know each other. PedElle is a great way of breaking down barriers and encouraging women in both their careers in property and their cycling. Given the opportunity, I would 100% do it again”.

We are excited to announce that one of our projects; the World Conservation & Exhibitions Centre (WCEC) at the British Museum won a regional RIBA award at the RIBA awards ceremony in London on Monday 22^nd May. The award was collected by John McElgunn from Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners and Tony Wilson from Equals.

The WCEC project at the British Museum comprises a 1,100m² special exhibitions gallery, 6,000m² of conditioned storage space for collection material, and state of the art conservation workshops and scientific research laboratories. The new building also accommodates modern flexible office space, and a logistics and object handling area that facilitates national and international loans.

Equals acted on the project as the client project manager and provided the main interface with the construction manager, Mace. We are delighted that the hard work of the design team and of Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners in particular has been recognised by this award.

Equals is pleased to announce the arrival of Tom Geard as Director. Having worked in the Construction industry for over 28 years and bringing over 10 years of housing experience, Tom has held senior management roles for industry leading consultancy firms, such as Capita, Mace Group and Turner & Townsend. His more recent 10 years at an Operations Director level saw him leading on significant housing regeneration and development projects and programmes.

Tom will continue to work closely with local authorities, housing associations and developers in assisting them with meeting the challenges of resolving the housing crisis and providing solutions and actions to guarantee success.

Blackheath Halls; a Grade II listed building located in South East London (part of Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance), considered to be one of the oldest purpose-built concert halls still in existence, recently completed phase one of a major programme of refurbishment and restoration work.

As contract administrator and cost managers on the scheme, we ensured the project successfully delivered its aim in increasing the overall thermal performance of the building and enhancing artist and audience experience. The refurbishment consisted of a new slate roof including restoration of the existing roof coverings, works brick friezes and architectural features.

Equals acted as project managers for the refurbishment of the Piccadilly Theatre in London’s West End. The theatre is part of the Ambassadors Theatre Group and was originally built in 1928. It re-opened last week with a triple bill of plays from Russia’s reknowned Moscow Sovremennik Theatre, following a short dark period in which the works were completed, though preparatory works also took place while the previous show was playing.

The works involved a major refurbishment of the theatre’s fibrous plaster ceiling, removal of an unsightly 1970’s metal gantry and installation of a new chandelier and house lighting. We meticulously planned and prepared in order to safely complete the works around existing performances and within a restricted dark period.

James Sheppard, Director, said “It was critical that the theatre was able to re-open when planned, and we are delighted that the project was completed on time, testament to the enthusiasm and capability of everyone involved.”

Equals is pleased to announce a new member of staff who recently joined us, David Segelman. David joins our project management team, and has over fifteen years’ experience in the construction industry. David has worked both in the UK and South Africa on a variety of projects including refurbishments and new build projects within such diverse sectors such as retail, office, manufacturing, leisure, and healthcare. David was most recently Head of Projects and Facilities for the retailer Lush before joining Equals.

Last month an exciting (and for some, rather nerve-racking) milestone was passed on the Open Up Project at the Royal Opera House (ROH). Central to the project is the principal of opening up the building to make it more welcoming and accessible to visitors throughout the day and evening.

The transformation of the main foyer at ground level is at the heart of the changes being made and earlier this year work began to remove the concrete piers holding up the cast iron and glass structure that is the impressive Paul Hamlyn Hall. By doing this, the public will in future be met by an expansive, open elevation as they view the ROH on Bow Street.

To allow the piers to be removed, a large transfer truss spanning 17 metres and weighing a hefty 14 tonne was carefully installed to take the load of the building above. Completed over a period of a few weeks, the truss is now successfully doing its intended job, with minimal deflection sustained and no impact on the Paul Hamlyn Hall above, which continued to be in public use throughout. Installation of the façade glazing will shortly commence which will further help give a sense of shape the space being created.

The Lillie Road hotel development passed a significant milestone this week when planning approval was secured for the scheme. The seven story concept hotel, designed by Allies and Morrison, is being constructed in the heart of the high profile Lillie Square development in West Brompton. Equals have been providing project and cost management services to the developer Banham Security Holding Limited, and played an important role in obtaining local authority approval to commence with this challenging construction project in an area where there is significant simultaneous construction activity and regeneration.

Equals is pleased to announce the appointment of Alan Oliver as Director. Alan joins from Capita where he led infrastructure solutions for strategic partnerships in the health sector.

Alan brings 30 years industry experience holding senior roles in blue chip main contracting and consultancy services at Carillion, Vinci and Capita. Alan has specialised in solutions for health and social care for the last ten years and joins the team at Equals to drive the continued growth of the business into this sector.

Commenting on his appointment, Alan said “I am delighted to be joining the Equals team. As the healthcare landscape adapts to reflect ever increasing demand and cost pressures, Equals comes well equipped to provide services and solutions that generate value and savings. I look forward to expanding Equals excellent reputation into this exciting sector”

Sovereign Court, a 124 unit PRS scheme in Tobacco Dock has completed. We provided employers agent and post-contract quantity surveying services on the redevelopment of the existing site, and the development involved the transformation an existing commercial space into 124 new residential units, set around a courtyard and including extensive landscaping.

This quarter we discuss the challenges of delivering major building projects within environments that need to remain operational throughout the construction period. Maintaining ‘business as usual’ for the client is very often a critical part of project success.

We are delighted to have been appointed as quantity surveyors on Shorts Gardens, a central London commercial scheme for developer Span Group. The scheme, located in the conservation area of Seven Dials in Covent Garden, involves the partial demolition and refurbishment of a six storey building. The new mix-use scheme will be predominantly commercial offices, with several high end residential apartments and retail accommodation.

Equals is pleased to announce that Juliet Price joined us on the 1st February. Juliet joins our project management team, following previous work experience with us last year.

Equals are delighted to have been recently appointed to provide cost management services on the Kew Garden’s Estate’s masterplan. Working with Montagu Evans, we provided initial costs on the estates visioning strategy for Kew, and following this commission were subsequently appointed on the masterplan.
The scheme involves reviewing various options for the main estate at Kew, led by Montagu Evans and masterplanner Grimshaw.

Equals Inflation Report for 1st Quarter 2017 is now available. Equals is forecasting 2% annual tender price inflation for 2017 and 2018; rising to 3% in 2019. The report discusses the potential impact of Brexit on the UK construction market, as well as providing an overview of industry output.

Equals is actively seeking graduates to join our growing team in central London. We are looking to attract the industry’s best talent to be part of our exciting future. If you think this could be right for you please contact us at recruitment@equalsconsulting.com

Equals is pleased to announce Claire O’Brien joined us on the 1st January. Claire joins our project management team and as well as project management has a background in engineering.

We are project managers on the latest Foot Locker design concept to come to Europe – Jordan Jump Man. Following its predecessor stores in New York and Chicago, the new Jordan Bastille store in Paris is the first of its kind in Europe, and is a basketball concept store themed around Nike’s Jordan brand. The 600m² store was delivered on a fast track construction schedule of 15 weeks, and our team ensured it’s opening to schedule on 24th November.

Don Patterson, Director, said “We are delighted that this flagship store has had such a good reception on opening. The project was an enjoyable challenge as it is the first of its kind in Europe, and some innovative features were incorporated into the design of the store.”

We are assisting Foot Locker in delivering their European expansion programme, and have worked on over 120 new and refurbished stores throughout the UK and mainland Europe for the retailer.

Congratulations to our latest APC candidates Sean Dillon (Project Manager), David Haynes and Laura Kelly (Quantity Surveyors) who all passed their APC to become Chartered by the RICS in November. This continues Equal’s 100% pass rate for our APC candidates, with Luke Martin also becoming a chartered quantity surveyor earlier this year.

In total 18.4% of our current workforce has studied for and achieved the APC whilst at Equals since our inception in 2009. We are very proud of our success rate, given the national average pass rate for quantity surveyors is 67%, and 74% for project managers – it is a testament to the skill and dedication of our staff.

Equals are project managers on the refurbishment of the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden. The first phase of the scheme, which involved creating new restrooms in a previously under-utilised basement, was completed in October 2016.

The main scheme is due to complete in 2018, and involves creating a new glazed facade on Bow Street, improved entrancing and foyer areas, the refurbishment of the Linbury Theatre. It will create more open spaces to allow the public more access to exhibitions, education and events, digital interaction and a revamped bar and restaurant.

We are delighted to be part of the BDP team that has been appointed on the Northern Estate Programme (NEP), the adaptation and conservation of a number of historic buildings for the House of Commons. As part of the team led by BDP, we will be providing move management services. The Northern Estate consists of a series of significant Grade I, II* and II listed buildings and interlinking external spaces totalling around 15,300m², including the Norman Shaw buildings originally designed as the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, together with 1 Derby Gate and 1 Parliament Street. The buildings currently accommodate office space for the House of Commons.

Tony Wilson, Director said “We are thrilled to be part of the team on this landmark commission, and look forward to working closely with BDP on this historic part of the Parliamentary Estate. Relocation planning and management is an important part of the services we offer at Equals, and the House of Commons will join clients such as the BBC, the British Museum and the Science Museum for whom we have previously provided this service.”

The Royal College of Art (RCA) has appointed Equals to provide project management services on their new state-of-the-art £108m Battersea South campus. We are part of a multi-disciplinary team led by Mott MacDonald.

The new campus will be an innovative and creative space for students and faculty. The RCA is setting out to deliver a complex brief that marries art, design innovation, research and technology to create a flexible building; contributing to the long term success of the Battersea campus. Equals and Mott MacDonald are providing project management, engineering and design support to Herzog & de Meuron who have been appointed as architects on the scheme.

The BREXIT vote and consequential economic uncertainty underpins this latest report. We are forecasting 2% tender price inflation for 2017 and 2018 as we see signs of a continuing slowdown across many parts of the industry. Despite this, pockets of demand and inflation are expected to persist and the medium to long term effects of BREXIT on construction prices remain unclear.

Equals is pleased to announce the arrival of Simon Birchall as Director. Simon joins from Capita where he was Executive Director responsible for the £140m turnover Property and Infrastructure business. Having worked in the property and infrastructure sector for 29 years and held senior leadership positions within our industry Simon has a combination of project and business leadership experience and will take a lead on driving the next phase of the exciting Equals journey.