HARDIES PROPERTY & CONSTRUCTION CONSULTANTS CELEBRATE 100 YEARS IN BUSINESS
It’s a landmark year for Hardies Property & Construction Consultants who celebrate 100 years in business in 2013.
Based in their new Edinburgh Headquarters at East London House, East London Street, the firm, a Limited Liability Partnership with ten Partners, is Scotland’s largest multi-discipline surveying firm.
Established in Fife in 1913 by John Gordon Hardie, the firm has survived two World Wars, several Wall Street crashes and numerous highs and lows in the British economy. They now have fourteen offices in Scotland stretching from Fife, Lothian and Tayside to Glasgow, Paisley and the West of Scotland. Galashiels covers the Scottish Borders, Aberdeen the north east of Scotland and in Dundee they merged with WJR Christie & Partners who retain their well known trading name in Tayside. Altogether, Hardies employ ninety members of staff, with fifty eight professionally qualified in various disciplines.
The company has moved with the times starting as a Quantity Surveying practice to now offering a one stop shop of specialist services in the property and construction sector including:
· Project Management
· Property Valuations
· Quantity Surveying
· Building Surveying
· Clerk of Works
· CDM-C Co-ordination
· Dedicated Health & Safety Department offering training courses and specialist advice to other companies
Hardies has constantly invested in its staff to remain ahead of the competition. Recent additions to the team include Kate Bilbrough from East Lothian who is a new Associate in the Building Surveying Department. A specialist in the management of framework agreements for public sector clients, both for building surveying consultancy services and multi disciplinary services, Kate has extensive experience in conservation projects on Listed buildings and is heavily involved in the Central Scotland branch of Women in Property, having served as both Vice Chairman and Chairman.
Her current role sees her concentrating on a number of new projects for Hardies as the firm continues to raise its profile in the Capital, including a feasibility study for the repair or replacement of enormous roof lights on the roof of the National Museum in Chambers Street and external fabric repairs to an A listed building in Edinburgh City Centre.
Heading up the new Health & Safety Department is Mark Macpherson RMaPS, a Senior CDM Coordinator and Health and Safety Advisor. Providing a host of specialist services designed to reduce construction site accidents; improve safety plans and offer training and management courses, one of the new department’s main roles is to assist local struggling contractors and turn them around to achieve greater profitability with a professional Quality, Safety and Environmental system going forward.
Said Mark: “We are very pleased to bring this new department to the marketplace. The many changes in health and safety legislation over the years is in fact an excellent benchmark of how much our role has developed over the centuries from starting off as a Quantity Surveying firm in 1913 to now providing a wide range of services in property and construction including very specialist health and safety roles seen in this new department.”
“The market has been challenging for a while now and our services have to remain extremely competitive and industry relevant,” he said. “This new department is one such example and opens up exciting new avenues.”
Other topics covered by Mark’s Department include Risk Assessments; Tool Box Talks; Accident Near Miss Reporting & Investigating, Building Manuals; Operation and Maintenance Manuals and Site Safety Auditing. Mark also tutors adults in construction skills. Hardies are now offering the SMSTS and Safety Awareness training packages to the Construction Community under the Construction Skills banner.
Commenting on these key appointments, Derek Ferrier, Hardies Managing Partner said: “We are delighted to add Kate and Mark to the team, both members of staff with considerable expertise in their fields. Both are important new resources for Hardies, investments for us which will considerably strengthen our team. Kate gives us a strong competitive edge when it comes to framework agreements for public sector clients. She also brings to the table a strong track record in service delivery initiative for quality and programme and client relationship management. Mark offers a specialist department which is industry relevant and covers the whole of the country.”
Added Derek: “Despite economic conditions remaining challenging for our sector we have seen the need to continue to recruit the correct people, such as Kate and Mark and others who have recently joined our team, to work with us. We have also prepared for the upturn by expanding into the West and North East of Scotland to widen our geographic reach and make us sharper and more competitive.”
A few months ago Hardies Edinburgh moved to its new modern and open plan premises in the capital. As Derek explained: “This open plan office suits us perfectly and reflects our team work approach. As Scotland’s Capital it has always been very important to us to have our Headquarters here in Edinburgh – we also have an office in Dalkeith and both offices work very closely together.”
“We have been very fortunate to have been involved in a number of high profile leisure and conservation projects in the Capital and Lothians such as the £7 million Tigerlily Hotel and Lulu Nightclub in George Street; the state of the art Penicuik Centre; the £8 million Dovecot Tapestry Centre and the £5 million Water of Leith Walkway and river valley conservation works.”
Hardies has also been involved with community facilities such as the Out of the Blue Arts Centre in Leith. At the moment the firm is also helping registered charity The Himalayan Centre Edinburgh (HCE) create a Community and Cultural Centre on the site of the old Dr Bells Swimming Pool.
Now at tender stage, all three of the grant and funding applications submitted by HCE, with the assistance of Hardies, have been successful. Hardies have already been appointed to carry out all design work on the historic Grade B listed building together with CDM Co-ordination services and will also be fulfilling the role of Project Managers and Quantity Surveyors in the challenging refurbishment venture.
But it has been their assistance with funding applications which has played such a vital role for Gopal Lama, the Principal Director behind the project, and the other Directors. He said: ”We are delighted that our funding applications have been successful- it’s a major step forward and I cannot stress what a help it has been having Hardies’ in depth knowledge of this sector to help us with the application. Without their assistance we may not even have applied for the correct grants or known where to start!”
Said Derek: “We have clients in both the private and public sector. In Midlothian we have played a key role in the largest council housing project for 30 years, providing 800 new build homes at seven separate sites on time and on budget.”
Not forgetting one of its core businesses in Residential and Commercial Valuation Services, Hardies one of the original founder members of “First Surveyors Scotland”, a network of firms providing full postcode coverage of Scotland. Hardies operate the call centre on behalf of First Surveyors Scotland.
“We are very proud of First Surveyors Scotland and believe that John Gordon Hardie, our founder, would be too, as it has helped spread the Hardies name nationally as a byword for quality surveying,” said Derek.
Hardies has a number of events planned to celebrate its 100th Anniversary in 2013 including a reception on 28 March 2013 in the Queen Anne Room at Edinburgh Castle. Later in the year Edinburgh City Council will be hosting a special congratulatory reception for the firm.
“It is a great achievement to reach 100 years in business in these trying times,” said Derek Ferrier. “I would like to thank all partners and staff for their hard work and dedication over the past few years – we are well equipped for the future and our “one stop shop” approach serves the market and our clients very well.”
Hardies serve clients in both the private and public sectors with a complete consultancy service in property and construction development, including property valuation, building and quantity surveying and project management. The firm also handles the leasing and sale of commercial and industrial buildings; CDM Co-ordination, the provision of Energy Performance Certificates and Health and Safety Construction Management
Further details www.hardies.co.uk
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