Wates Group

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

Wates Group
TypePrivate company
IndustryEngineering / Construction / Property Services / Residential Development / Facilities Management
Founded1897
HeadquartersLeatherhead, Surrey
Key people
Sir James Wates CBE, Chairman
David Allen, CEO
Revenue£1.601 billion (2018)[1]
£48.0 million (2018)[1]
Number of employees
c. 4,000
Websitewww.wates.co.uk

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] Wates announced three hundred redundancies in May 2020, around 8% of its workforce, as the group managed fallout from the Covid19 Pandemic.[11] In July 2020, it announced restructuring changes intended to support a focus on core public sector and housing work.[12]

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 circa £10 million since 2008.[13] In London, Wates Group is building residential properties on the Greenwich Peninsula.[14]

Wates runs Building Futures, an education programme for the long term unemployed. It is accredited by the Assessment and Qualifications Alliance.[15] 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.[16]

Major projects

Major projects include:

Awards

It won the Construction News "Contractor of the Year" Award in July 2017,[23] and the magazine Building "Major Contractor of the Year" Award in 2009, 2010 and 2016, with CEO Andrew Davies named CEO's CEO of the Year in 2016.[24]

References
  1. "Financial performance". Wates. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  2. "history". wates.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2015-03-28. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  3. Prior, Grant (4 March 2015). "Wates eyes Shepherd takeover". Construction Enquirer. Archived from the original on 2016-08-14. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
  4. Knowlson, Laura (5 March 2015). "New rumours hint at Shepherd Group sell-off". York Press. Archived from the original on 2016-08-29. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
  5. "'No comment' on takeover speculation at Shepherd's contracting businesses". Yorkshire Post. 10 March 2015. Archived from the original on 2016-09-13. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
  6. Morby, Aaron (21 May 2015). "Wates to buy most of Shepherd's construction arm". Construction Enquirer. Archived from the original on 2016-08-14. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
  7. Richardson, Andy (22 July 2015). "Building firm Shepherd agrees to be bought by Wates". Northern Echo. Archived from the original on 2016-08-15. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
  8. "Wates completes takeover of Shepherd divisions". The Construction Index. 1 October 2015. Archived from the original on 2016-01-26. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
  9. Prior, Grant (1 October 2015). "Buyout sees 1200 Shepherd staff join Wates". Construction Enquirer. Archived from the original on 2016-01-27. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
  10. Morby, Aaron (24 June 2016). "Shepherd Group suffers £74m hit from sold building arm". Construction Enquirer. Archived from the original on 2016-06-25. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
  11. Marshall, Jordan (20 May 2020). "Wates announces mass redundancies". Building. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  12. McCulloch, Chloe (21 July 2020). "Wates rejigs to focus on public sector and housing work". Building. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  13. "Wates Giving". Wates. Archived from the original on 2016-10-27. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
  14. Burn-Callander, Rebecca (2015-09-30). "Wates Group lands Shepherd deal bolstering turnover by £300m". ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2019-10-31.
  15. "Successful Community Engagement: Building Futures". RegenWM. Archived from the original on 2011-07-27. Retrieved July 16, 2010.
  16. "Tories boosted by construction donations". The Construction Index. 25 August 2017. Archived from the original on 2017-08-25. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  17. "Wiltshire History". Archived from the original on 2012-10-01. Retrieved 2011-03-06.
  18. "Woolwich Civic Offices". Archived from the original on 2012-07-21. Retrieved 2013-10-23.
  19. Graeme Kent. "Inspire:Luton Sports Village... Lutons most exciting development in 30 years". activeluton.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  20. "Silence is Golden at Doncaster Civic Centre - Accordial". accordial.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  21. "Wates Living Space is to build 466 new affordable homes under a PFI deal with Kirklees Council". Construction index. 22 December 2011. Archived from the original on 2015-01-08. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
  22. "Wates completes historic V&A museum extension (30 June 2017)". Wates plc. Wates. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  23. "Wates scoops Construction News Contractor of the Year Award 2017 'major contractor of year'". 14 July 2017. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  24. "Wates wins 'major contractor of year' double". The Business Desk. 23 June 2010. Archived from the original on 2015-10-06. Retrieved 5 October 2015.


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