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We are delighted to announce that Steven Allen has been promoted (January 2024) to the role of Project Manager within our dedicated team of Project Management professionals.

Steven joined Wakemans in May 2022 as a Graduate Project Manager and has worked diligently to gain his promotion.  Originally, Steven came from a background in topographical surveying and project coordination in the utilities and infrastructure industry. Whilst with us Steven has honed his skills and is currently working on a wide range of construction projects with a number of our developer partners.

Matt McWalter Head of our Project Management Division comments: “Steven has demonstrated a high-level of versatility easily fitting in with the team and progressing within his job to achieve this promotion, I am really happy to see him develop within his role”.

Matt McWalter congratulates Steven Allen
Matt McWalter, Head of Project Management congratulates Steven Allen on his promotion to Project Manager.

Steven adds “I am pleased with my promotion. I am looking forward to the year ahead having established my role with Wakemans and gaining a broad range of experience thus far”.

Congratulations to Steve from Wakemans and the team!  

The team at Wakemans would like to offer huge congratulations to Emma and Jordan entering into 2024 in their new roles following promotion within the company.

Emma Bridgewood re-joined Wakemans in 2022 as a Senior Quantity Surveyor / Project Manager, she has been promoted to Associate Director and works within the Industrial and Logistics sector team. Dean Watson, Chief Executive comments “Emma is of considerable value to Wakemans, she is a highly effective communicator at all levels and highly respected across the company, we were delighted when she returned to us and equally delighted to have rewarded her hard work and dedication with this well-deserved promotion”.

Emma comments “Thank you to everyone who welcomed me back in 2022 and I am pleased to be back with the team, some of whom I have known for many years. I am delighted to have received this promotion and recognition. Working within the Industrial and Logistics sector throws up its own set of unique challenges and I look forward to continuing to work with colleagues to achieve successful project outcomes and forge strong working relationships”.

Jordan Hughes came to Wakemans in 2017 as a Graduate Project Surveyor and it was his first job working full time as a Quantity Surveyor. Jordan works within the Industrial and Logistics team and has gained a significant amount of experience whilst working with us in this sector.

Jordan was promoted to the role of Senior Surveyor in December 2023. Divisional Director Andrew Hancock says, “We have seen Jordan progress his career whilst working for us, and we are pleased to see him achieve this senior role. May I extend my congratulations to Jordan – a well-deserved promotion”. Jordan is seeking to pass his RICS APC next year and become a Chartered member of the RICS. Jordan comments “I would like to thank Wakemans for the opportunity to develop my professional career with them, their support has assisted me to grow in confidence to effectively manage projects and teams as a part of my responsibilities, I look forward to continuing to grow in my current role”.

 

Photo: Jordan and Emma recent promotions Wakemans.
Jordan Hughes and Emma Bridgewood pictured here after being recently promoted.

Wakemans say farewell to Dawn Archer

At the end of September, we waved farewell to our colleague Dawn Archer, who decided to retire after serving 21 years.  Beginning her long tenure working part-time in our reception before joining the accounts team, Dawn was a much-loved member of staff.  We will certainly miss her smiling face and happy demeanour around the office.  We wish her all the best in her future adventures touring Europe with partner Tony.

Dean Watson, Dawn Archer, John Woodhall and Michelle Woodhall
Pictured here (left to right): Dean Watson Chief Executive and Joint Managing Director raises a glass to wish Dawn well alongside our now retiring Executive Chairman John Woodhall and Finance Director, Michelle Woodhall.

Wakemans laid on an informal retirement party for all of Dawn’s colleagues and friends at our offices in Birmingham.

Bon Voyage Dawn!

 

Wakemans welcome Yanique Beckford

We welcomed Yanique Beckford to the Accounts Team in October. Yanique has previously worked in a range of Client-facing roles and is an enthusiastic addition to Wakemans.

Yanique has always loved mathematics and having completed accountancy training she exclaims that she has always wanted to work with figures. Yanique is fitting in well with her colleagues and having landed her ideal job she is looking forward to progressing her career with Wakemans.

Yanique says ‘I am so pleased to have finally achieved my dream of working in an accounts role and everyone at Wakemans has been so welcoming.’

Welcome, to the Accounts Department Yanique!

 

Read more about recent our news on LinkedIn.

Current vaccancies can be found here ….

 

The Wakemans team had a fantastic time at a recent get-together at Roxy Ball Room.

Harry Bayliss was the principal events planner for the evening.  The event was a chance for our staff to get involved and take part in some fun games.  A little competition was shared by all playing pool, bowling, basketball, shuffleboard and ping pong, there was something to suit everyone.

All of us agreed what a great night out .  Providing an welcome opportunity for the team to relax and enjoy themselves away from the office.  What a great team-building event it turned out to be.

Thank you to Harry and to everyone who came along, great to see you all.

The Wakemans team enjoy a social event at Roxy's

  1. Kayleigh Davenport sharp eye on the target.
  2. Luke Burns and the pre-strike.
  3. Ping Pong and the overhead shot from Jordan Hughes.
  4. Dan Dafforn demonstrates the art of shuffleboard to Ben Pugh.
  5. Andrew Hancock potting the red.
  6. Will Taylor (foreground) and Sean Bennett shooting some hoops.

Wakemans Strengthen its Building Surveying Team

We are delighted to welcome new colleagues to Wakemans, as Assistant Building Surveyors Kate Tatchell and Naomi Pulfer join our Building Surveying Division.

Since graduating with a degree in Property Development and Planning Naomi had gained around 2 years of experience in the property and construction industry before spending a year out travelling in Central America. On her return to the UK Naomi secured a position with Wakemans with the aim of continuing to gain experience in her chosen profession and to attain Chartership with the RICS.

Naomi is settling well into her new role and states, “I am looking forward to developing my career with Wakemans, I am already busy with a variety of projects across a range of sectors, and I enjoy the variety of work with every day being slightly different”. Naomi is based at our Birmingham Headquarters.

Kate has approached her career from a completely different angle, as she started out working as a Personal Trainer – Strength and Conditioning Coach. Kate took a graduate diploma to convert her degree in Interior Architecture and move into the Building Surveying profession where she has worked within the residential sector for the past four and a half years.

Like Naomi, Kate is also looking towards gaining chartership via her APC with the RICS. “Wakemans have a history of successfully seeing people through the APC process and I liked the idea of working within a larger team of Building Surveyors, on a varied portfolio of work”. Kate is based in our Bristol office and strengthens the team working in the Southwest region.

Peter Wadley MRICS, Head of the Building Surveying Division would like to extend a warm welcome into the team, and we wish them every success with their careers.

Dragon Boat Race, Llanberis

in support of St Davids Hospice, North West Wales (Hospis Dewi Sant)

Well done to our colleagues and associates that took part in ‘The Dragon Boat Race’ Padarn Lake, Llanberis on the 24th June 2023.

St David's Hospice / Hosbis Dewi Sant

The team consisted of a 15 strong crew of Architects, Building Surveyors, Mechanical & Electrical Engineers, Structural and Civil Engineers from local companies including Dewis Architecture, Veridian and Vale.

The team succeeded in reaching the semi-finals over three heat races and were beaten by the team that went on to win the tournament.

The event proved to be fantastic fun day out in support of St Davids Hospice, North West Wales (Hospis Dewi Sant).  Wakemans were pleased to sponsor our colleagues Dylan Morris (Regional Director) and Tom Hastings (Associate Director) with a contribution of £250 towards the charity, a cumulative contribution of £1000 was given on behalf of the team who took part and proudly represented professional services companies in the locality.

St David’s Hospice is a local charity providing hospice care to adult patients across Conwy, Gwynedd and Anglesey.  The Hospice delivers free, high-quality, specialist palliative care to patients with life limiting illnesses, their family and carers.  It currently costs over £5 million to run St David’s Hospice every year.

 

Wakemans are delighted to have been retained by St. Modwen Logistics on Phase 2 of St. Modwen Park, Derby.  The remit for our professional expertise includes Cost and Project Management, Employer’s Agent, Principal Designer and Health & Safety Advisor services.

The £59m industrial and logistics development comprises of c.350,000 sq ft delivered across five industry-leading warehouse units, commencing with a new 145,000 sq ft warehouse which has already been pre-let.  The units will be constructed to St. Modwen Logistics’ ‘Swan Standard’ for sustainable construction, meaning they will be highly energy efficient and come with an EPC A+ rating. All five units will also benefit from the installation of enhanced rooftop solar panels, thereby helping occupiers to reduce their operational costs and have been designed to BREEAM Excellent accreditation.

Team Photo St Modwen Derby
Pictured above Wakemans Project and Cost Managers include: Second from left: Ben Pugh – Associate Director, eighth from left Alex Burton – Graduate Surveyor, tenth from left: Jordan Hughes – Project Surveyor.

St. Modwen Park Derby will also see the ongoing creation of a new riverside nature corridor with the planting of thousands of trees and shrubs to surround the park, an initiative that forms part of St. Modwen Logistics’ commitment to providing biodiversity as a part of its development strategy, assisting its occupiers to achieve their own sustainability goals, whilst providing a green and pleasant environment for occupiers and their employees at the Park.

Other members of the development team include Architects – Stephen George & Partners; Contractors: Winvic Construction; Geo-Technical & Geo-Environmental Engineers – Atkins Limited; Structural Engineers – Rodgers Leask; M&E Engineers – Hopkins Coats Associates and Ecologists – SK Environmental Solutions.

The project has an estimated completion date in Spring 2024.

Wakemans Bristol office has re-located to a new larger office at 4 Grove Road, Redland, Bristol BS6 6UJ.

We are delighted to announce that our Bristol division is continuing to grow from strength to strength, and we have completed numerous extensive projects in the Southwest, including significant re-development sites, infrastructure and mixed-use builds.  Our team of experts have an in depth understanding of the ever changing local construction and property markets, assisting our Clients to achieve cost effective, quality solutions tailored to their individual project requirements. Working on behalf of major developers our schemes are making exciting changes to the face of Bristol and the surrounding areas which have included Bristol Temple Quay, Skypark Exeter, St Modwen Park Gloucester, Portside Park to name but a few.

We will continue to offer our excellent services as Construction and Property Consultants, our multi-disciplinary services include Cost and Project Management | Employer’s / Tenant’s Agent | Expert Witness | Principal Designer and Health & Safety Advisor services | Building Surveying Services.

 

Further exciting news from our Bristol Office

Our Building Surveying team is growing and expanding in the Southwest.  The team work nationwide from both Birmingham and Bristol and our new improved offices will offer a local service serving the South areas of the UK. Our Building Surveyors offer a comprehensive service offering including:

Building Condition Surveys | Defects Diagnostics and Reports | Contract Administration | Design and Specifications | Design and Development Feasibility Studies | Development Monitoring | Technical Compliance and Quality Assurance | Pre-Acquisition and Due Diligence | Dilapidations / Landlord and Tenant | Planned Maintenance and PPM Surveys | Asset Life Cycle Assessment Surveys | Fit Out and Refurbishment Works | Party Wall Services and Disputes | Expert Witness | Access Consultancy | Access and Over-Sailing Agreements

From 1 November 2022 we are now working from:

4 Grove Road, Redland, Bristol BS6 6UJ

T: 0117 973 0077

John & Friends Walk from Caernarfon Castle to the Summit of Yr Wyddfa Raising £1,606 for Blue Sky North Wales

Congratulations to our Divisional Director Dylan Morris and his friends who took part in an epic walk on the 10th September from Caernarfon Castle to the summit of Yr Wyddfa in Snowdon.

Dylan reached the summit in 5 hours 43 minutes and covering 17miles achieving a total elevation of 4,180ft!

Dylan undertook the walk alongside 10 friends to raise money for the Urology Dept Ysbyty Gwynedd where his friend John Parry had received exceptional care via the charity Awyr Las Gogledd Cymru / Blue Sky North Wales.

A total of £1,606 raised for this cause.

John Parry’s Charity Walk

Ten friends joined John to walk 17 miles from Caernarfon Castle to the summit of Yr Wyddfa and down to Llanberis. The walk left the shores of the Menai Strait and trekked along old railway tracks, through villages and up through Cefn Du quarry to Maesgwm – where they cut across to Hebron to start the ascent of Yr Wyddfa.

John Parry decided to organise the challenge having received excellent care from the Urology team based at Ysbyty Gwynedd the district general hospital in Bangor, where John underwent treatment for a prostrate problem which turned out to be a benign disease.

Prostate enlargement is a very common condition associated with ageing and more than 1 in 3 of all men over 50 will have some symptoms. Unfortunately, in the UK, prostate cancer is the most common type of cancer with more than 45,000 new cases diagnosed every year.

 

It has been an exciting and busy year so far for the whole team at Wakemans so the Directors arranged a motivational get together to celebrate our recent project achievements. The event brought everyone together and was a great success. Wakemans like to create regular opportunities for team building so people can connect and interact in meaningful ways, outside of the usual meetings. It was also a great chance for some of our newest members of the team to get to know one another.

“The event proved highly successful, the weather was kind to us and our entire team appreciated a relaxed afternoon in what may be the last of the summer heat, enjoying some good company and conversation at our HQ in Edgbaston” says John Woodhall – Executive Chairman.