Wates Group

Wates Group
Private company
Industry Engineering / Construction / Property Services / Residential Development / Facilities Management
Founded 1897
Headquarters Leatherhead, Surrey
Key people
 James Wates CBE, Chairman
David Allen, CEO (acting)
Revenue £1.62 billion (2017)[1]
£47.2 million (2017)[1]
Number of employees
 c. 4,000
Website www.wates.co.uk

The Wates Group is one of the largest family owned construction, property services and development companies in the United Kingdom.

History

Established by Edward Wates in 1897, the company expanded into speculative housebuilding and general contracting in the 1920s and 1930s.[2] During World War II, it was involved in building the Mulberry harbours.[2] In March 2015, it was reported that Wates would take over most of the Shepherd Group's construction operations.[3][4][5]

Two months later, it was confirmed that Wates would take over Shepherd Engineering Services (SES), Shepherd Facilities Management and various contracts held by its loss making Shepherd Construction arm (Wates refused to take on Shepherd’s problematic Colindale mixed residential and retail development), with some 1,200 staff transferring to Wates in September 2015.[6][7]

The Wates deal was concluded on 1 October 2015,[8][9] being valued at £9.8m, with Shepherd booking a £2.8m profit after taking account of costs for the sale.[10]

Operations

The group operates in three core areas: Construction, Property Services and Residential Developments. There is also Wates Giving, a charitable foundation which has given away over £9.6m since 2008.[11]

Wates runs Building Futures, an education programme for the long-term unemployed. It is accredited by the Assessment and Qualifications Alliance.[12] Wates has been a major donor to the UK Conservative Party. From 2007 to 2017, Wates Group Services Ltd gave £430,000 to the party, including a £50,000 donation in February 2017.[13]

Major projects

Major projects include:

  • RAF Keevil, completed in 1941[14]
  • Woolwich Civic Centre, completed in 2011[15]
  • Inspire: Luton Sports Village, completed in 2012[16]
  • Doncaster Civic Hall, completed in 2012 (CIOB Project of the Year)[17]
  • Kirklees Affordable Homes PFI, completed in 2014[18]
  • Victoria & Albert Museum Exhibition Road Extension, completed 2017[19]

Awards

It won the Construction News Contractor of the Year Award in 2017[20] and Building magazine Major Contractor of the Year award in 2009, 2010 and 2016, with CEO Andrew Davies named CEO's CEO of the Year in 2016.[21]

References

  1. 1 2 "Financial performance". Wates. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  2. 1 2 "history". wates.co.uk. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  3. ↑ Prior, Grant (4 March 2015). "Wates eyes Shepherd takeover". Construction Enquirer. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
  4. ↑ Knowlson, Laura (5 March 2015). "New rumours hint at Shepherd Group sell-off". York Press. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
  5. ↑ "'No comment' on takeover speculation at Shepherd's contracting businesses". Yorkshire Post. 10 March 2015. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
  6. ↑ Morby, Aaron (21 May 2015). "Wates to buy most of Shepherd's construction arm". Construction Enquirer. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
  7. ↑ Richardson, Andy (22 July 2015). "Building firm Shepherd agrees to be bought by Wates". Northern Echo. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
  8. ↑ "Wates completes takeover of Shepherd divisions". The Construction Index. 1 October 2015. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
  9. ↑ Prior, Grant (1 October 2015). "Buyout sees 1200 Shepherd staff join Wates". Construction Enquirer. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
  10. ↑ Morby, Aaron (24 June 2016). "Shepherd Group suffers £74m hit from sold building arm". Construction Enquirer. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
  11. ↑ "Wates Giving". Wates. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
  12. ↑ "Successful Community Engagement: Building Futures". RegenWM. Retrieved July 16, 2010.
  13. ↑ "Tories boosted by construction donations". The Construction Index. 25 August 2017. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  14. ↑ Wiltshire History
  15. ↑ Woolwich Civic Offices
  16. ↑ Graeme Kent. "Inspire:Luton Sports Village... Lutons most exciting development in 30 years". activeluton.co.uk. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  17. ↑ "Silence is Golden at Doncaster Civic Centre - Accordial". accordial.co.uk. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  18. ↑ "Wates Living Space is to build 466 new affordable homes under a PFI deal with Kirklees Council". Construction index. 22 December 2011. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
  19. ↑ "Wates completes historic V&A museum extension (30 June 2017)". Wates plc. Wates. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  20. ↑ "Wates scoops Construction News Contractor of the Year Award 2017 'major contractor of year'". 14 July 2017. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  21. ↑ "Wates wins 'major contractor of year' double". The Business Desk. 23 June 2010. Retrieved 5 October 2015.


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