2019 Review-A Look Back At The Year As AG Goes From Strength To Strength

Our busiest year yet

2019 has been AG’s busiest year yet and we are very proud of our recent achievements!

We are witnessing a 21% growth on turnover from the previous year, despite the Directors reducing fee earning to concentrate on putting the building blocks in place to scale up. Staffing numbers have also increased to 26.

AG recruited 7 new members of staff (3 x Building Surveyors, 2 Architectural Technicians, a BD Co-Ordinator and a Finance Manager - we feel very grown up!).

Several new roles have been created as we promote internally and grow our Senior Management Team and work towards our new 5-year business plan. AG put their money where their mouth is and purchased a rundown property in the centre of Preston. Breathing life into the historic building located on Cross Street, Preston that had stood empty for the over a decade. In preparation of our planned growth, we instructed an external Consultant to review AG’s processes. Over the last 12 months, we have streamlined all documentation and highlighted any areas for improvement.

There has also been a strong focus on staff development following an in-depth skills review and increased levels of engagement have been identified as a result of this. Company Achievements In 2019 we continued our path to be the North of England’s Leading Independent Building Consultancy by following our business plan and sticking to our values – including pursuing growth and having fun! AG launched The Lancashire Property + Construction Forum and its associated ‘Last Friday Club’ to create a community for those involved in the Lancashire Built Environment. Lancashire Property and Construction professionals turn up for a drink, pizza and free networking! Sponsors include Forbes, Cassidy & Ashton, Napthens and others. BIBA’s Winner for Construction Business of the Year in September 2019. The team at AG are ecstatic to win this. A testament to how hard and tirelessly the team work and this award recognised our hard work and efforts that are not going unnoticed.

We appointed 4 new directors (all internal promotions) signalling that we recognise achievement and are determined to grow both our staff and our business. This coincides with the formation of 6 ‘Strategic Business Units’ each with a fortnightly mentoring session to support the Unit leader. Charity Donations - We pledged to donate £5.00 for a northern based charity for every instruction we received. To date, we have donated £2,010.00 to charities such as Derian House Children’s Hospice and Lancashire Mind. We invested in 3D laser scanning and drone survey technology. We recognise technology is changing the way we work and are expanding our training and development needs to reflect this. Not forgetting our biggest asset – our wonderful people. We introduced ‘’Project engAGe” to focus on getting the best from each staff member by developing the whole person, how they can feel great and work smart. Examples include wellbeing and soft skills workshops, sports teams, time and email management.

Industry Achievements

We positioned in the industry leading publication Building Magazines Top 150 UK Consultants (The only North West firm to appear!!) climbing higher up the chart than previously, expanded the team, promoted internally, gained new clients and were appointed on several exciting Frameworks.

We have continued to punch above our weight working for national clients; DHL, Asda, Tesco’s, Halfords, Boohoo, Manchester Airport Group and Travis Perkins. We are currently delivering circa 2500 (yes 2500!) new build residential units; a mix of both outright sale and affordable.

We achieved Silver (a Bronze 2018!) in the internationally-renowned RoSPA Health and Safety Awards, the longest-running industry awards scheme in the UK. The awards scheme, which receives entries from organisations around the world, recognises achievement in H&S Management Systems, including practices such as leadership and workforce involvement.

AG committed to the RICS Inclusive Employer Quality Mark (IEQM). To be an attractive and successful business, diversity and inclusion is vital. It allows employees to maximise potential and as a result, customer experience to be of excellent standard.

We are excited to be part of this and look forward to helping our industry make muchneeded changes.

We attended PropSki (the only North West Business there; very London Centric!) – the Property networking event in Chamonix and then we launched Propski North to promote northern businesses to attend – and this worked as there are circa 150 northern attendees now booked for Jan 2020.

AG proudly represented Lancashire at MIPIM – the world’s largest property exhibition in Cannes, where we work with Marketing Lancashire to encourage investment in the county.

What is next for AG?

We will be following our Business Plan and doubling in size in the next 5 years. We will be focusing on growing our new Strategic Business Units in the same way we have grown AG to date.

We will utilise our new practice management and CRM software system to provide an even more efficient and engaging client journey.

We actively look for the right people to join us and liaise with local Colleges offering apprenticeships. We are working hard to gain Investors in People accreditation and thrive on having a great team to work together for the foreseeable future.

Whilst our aim is to retain team members, we are a strong believer of training and developing. We develop quality professionals and provide a progressive, happy and engaging environment.

We are always working on new ways to ensure all staff members have a good work life balance and their hard work is recognised.

2019 has been a fantastic year for the business and AG can’t wait for another exciting year ahead.