Flying high

By the very nature of its business, providing aerial photography for surveying high places, Upshot
UK is a high flyer but the company has soared over the past year and is planning to spread its wings even further in the near future

Upshot UK , founded in 2006 by managing director James Pickance, provides ground-based aerial photography, allowing its social housing clients to inspect rooftops and other elevated structures without having to rely on expensive and often intrusive measures such as erecting scaffolding or hiring
equipment such as cherrypickers.

The company has a fleet of special vehicles, which are fitted with 26-metre telescopic masts with high resolution digital cameras, which can be controlled from inside the van to take photographs.

The images can then be viewed by the clients from the comfort of their desks with the ability to zoom in further from their PCs, highlighting any issues and potential repairs. While based in the south with offices in Hampshire, London and Kent the company’s workload takes it much further afield and it operates nationwide.

“The service that we provide gives clients a very cheap way of looking at a lot of property very quickly from their desktops and the images can be viewed by several people allowing them to quote exactly on the prices,” says Pickance. “It enables our clients to prioritise works and demonstrate where repair not replacements are required, while also identifying where cherry pickers or towers are sufficient for the repairs; all of this obviously reduces the planned capital expenditure.”

Its client base of registered providers and contractors working within the social housing sector has continued to grow with customers nationwide. Upshot UK carries out cyclical maintenance repair programmes for its clients, meaning that the vast majority of its contracts are repeat business. Word of mouth and positive testimonials have played a huge part in the company’s growth but Pickance has also embarked on a promotional push with Upshot UK being represented at an increasing number of conferences and exhibitions.

“It is all about staying in touch with your clients and giving them the best service we can give them and making them look good to their client really. I think a key point is the fact that everyone who we have done work for, we are still working for,” he says.

“It is an annual thing, clients tend to use our service at the same time of the year and we are particularly busy now as it is the end of the financial year. But we already have work lined up through till about August next year.”

Of course the growing client base has brought with it more work and Pickance, who was once Upshot UK ’s sole employee, now has a staff of 10. Pickance’s brother Mark, a chartered surveyor, has recently joined the company as a co-director and leads the business’s L ondon operation.

“My brother is based in L ondon and I needed help to take the strain of running the business because there is so much to do sohe came on board and bought into the company,” says Pickance. “He basically runs the London operation which is a very busy area for us.”

There are plans to take on five more staff over the next year and to build up a salesforce, recruiting from within the social housing sector, to promote the company and its wares.

It is clear that Upshot UK has come a long way since those early days when Pickance, who previously worked in the telecommunications industry, first realised the scope for the telescopic mast techniques to be applied to building inspection.

It has recently joined ConstructionLine, the UK ’s largest register for prequalified contractors and consultants and Pickance is keen to ensure that the company continues to develop. “We are a growing company and our methods are constantly evolving,” he says.

Keeping up with ever-changing legislation is a big part of the company’s development and Upshot UK employs the services of a health and safety consultant to make sure that it is up to speed. “All the staff are qualified to work on the highway,” he said.

Technology is another fast paced area and for a company which uses cutting edge aerial photography equipment keeping abreast of the latest developments is key.

Upshot UK is in the process of integrating a new type of van, specifically designed to work in an urban environment, into its fleet of vehicles. The first of the new more compact vans is already on the road and Pickance hopes to introduce up to five more over the next year.

As the company continues to grow so too does the breadth of services that it offers.

Upshot UK ’s thermal imaging provision has been highlighted as an area of growth. The service involves surveying the external and internal fabric of a building using a thermal imaging camera and providing a full report on the energy efficiency of the building to the client. Pickance plans to bring in new staff as the service develops.

Social housing forms a huge part of Upshot UK ’s business but it is by nomeans its sole area of operation and the company works within the telecoms industry; does surveillance evidence gathering for insurance companies and detective agencies; works with architects and covers the annual Red Bull Air Race to name but a few of the strings to its bow.

“We are probably the leading and biggest aerial photography company already,” says Pickance “But I would like to see us grow so that in five years time Upshot will be the first name that people think of when looking for aerial photography.

“We are offering a very niche product, that is priced very well, based on a volume basis and companies are turning to it because of the cost, which is significantly cheaper than the scaffolding route to assess the state and cost of repairs. It is also non-intrusive and gives people as much information as possible without them leaving their desks.”