Essence of integrity

Niblock Building Contractors likes to deliver for its clients. The bedrock of its success is a strong continuity of experience and an ethos that values partnership

“The ethos of the company is that we work with our clients – not just for them,” says Peter Burcow, services manager at Niblock Building Contractors. “It always comes back to that. It really is the essence of the company.”

It’s an essence that goes right back to the company’s origins in 1959, when it was founded by Joseph Niblock as a carpentry and joinery contractor. It quickly grew, working on major construction sites throughout London, employing around 80 joiners. Over the following years, it has evolved into a general building firm, specialising in refurbishment works.

The company is working with a number of housing organisations as partners on their framework agreements, undertaking a range of internal and external refurbishment works within their Decent Homes programmes. Examples include Ealing Homes, Brent Housing Partnership, London & Quadrant Housing, City West Homes, and Haringey Council, but the company is also working with partners in
other sectors, such as the Metropolitan Police. In this latter case, it is working to refurbish police stations and has recently completed work on a training centre in Gravesend.

The framework for Ealing Homes is a four-year one set to run until 2013 and it is the second time the company has been chosen by the ALMO having also worked on the previous framework. Currently Niblock is working on a £4.6 million internal and external refurbishment project to properties on the Village Park estate in the Gunnersby Park area of London. The work includes environmental works, replacing roofs, the installation of new uPVC windows, along with a number of kitchen and bathroom installations.

With Brent, the company is engaged on a £3 million programme of Decent Homes external improvement works. Given the nature of the work, of course, it also involves the tenants, giving them a choice and a say in the improvements to their homes, and so Niblock employs its own team of resident liaison officers, who work alongside those of the client.

Partnering is something the company has readily taken to since it first began to sweep across the industry as a way of working, but given Niblock’s attitude towards clients, in many respects it has already been partnering for many years. This applies from the board right down to site level. That ethos of working with clients, not just for them, has proved a natural underpinning to an informal partner approach way before Egan and Latham formalised the concept to the wider industry.

“We advocate a culture of continuous improvement and delivery, not an adversarial or blame culture,” Burcow said. “We attempt to keep our supply chain as a single team for the benefit of many clients, not purely for one project. As a small to medium enterprise we pride ourselves on delivering what we promise and that has been the mainstay of our success over the years.”

Niblock enjoys a high rate of staff retention – something for which the company is highly proud. The average term of service among the company’s staff members is 17 years and some of the workforce and management teams have worked together for between 10 and 25 years.

This stability and depth of service among both its managers and staff means that Niblock has retained and built up its experience year-onyear, not just in terms of building skills, but also in terms of working with clients, in maintaining relationships, in knowing the business and its partners. There is a continuity of collective experience.

In 1996, for instance, Niblock worked on the refurbishment of the Football Association’s Grade II listed headquarters in Lancaster Gate, London. This was a sensitive project that involved working with English Heritage to restore the front facade and reinstate the original internal period features. The people who worked on that project are still with the company today, meaning their experience remains to be called upon.

The company has a strong portfolio of work and is currently operating to a £10 million turnover, priding itself on its self-financing capability. Over the next year or two it is looking to grow further to a turnover in the region of £15 million, building further on the relationships it has already fostered.

“We’re looking for controlled growth, but not just for the sake of growth,” Burcow said. “It’s that old adage that turnover is vanity and profit is reality – and we very much believe in that.”

Roots of a modern firm

Niblock Building Contractors has a proud history. Starting life as a carpentry and joinery business in 1959, in the early 1960s founder Joseph Niblock ventured into general building contracts, primarily with the Greater London Council (GLC) and local authorities across the capital.

The work, which included an element of new construction on flats and houses, marked the shift that led to the evolution of Niblock as it is today. By the late 1970s, the company had opted to concentrate its efforts on general building and the carpentry division was gradually wound down. The focus on building work led to the company becoming approved by London’s local authorities and numerous housing associations as well as some selected private clients.

“By the early 1980s, Niblock’s reputation was recognised as a contractor that actually delivered what was promised,” said Peter Burcow, services manager. “This helped forge the relationships Niblock still enjoys with major consultants within the industry, private enterprises, housing associations and local authorities.”

The early 1980s also saw the arrival of the company’s present managing director, Martin Waters, who joined originally as a quantity surveyor. He quickly made an impression on the then board of directors and it wasn’t long before he was promoted to become a director himself.

When the directors were considering retirement in 1992, Waters, prompted by the company’s good reputation and its potential, took the bold step of buying out the retiring directors.

“Martin’s aim was to retain the positive and traditional elements that were associated with Niblock and inject foresight and a positive attitude towards risk and opportunity. This approach proved to be the turning point in the company’s future,” said Burcow.