The John Rowan and Partners magazine | Issue 9
Wandsworth Exchange We join L&Q‘s £70m urban renewal project INSIGHT SERIES We talk joint ventures and the housing market with Network Homes’ Executive Director, David Gooch + Bank monitoring with our Partner, Sean Tobin
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INSIGHT Contents
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Inside this edition 4 Insight talks to Network Homes’ David Gooch 8
Framework Success
12 Insight Series: Focus on Joint Ventures 14 Bank Monitoring – how to keep projects on track 16 McGrath Road wins at the LABC awards 18 Amazing Spaces – catch up with the latest news from the Hospitality & Leisure team 20 Chairman Mash’s News update 22 Society News
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David Gooch Executive Director of Development at Network Homes “Working with consultants like John Rowan and Partners is very important to Network Homes. That level of site supervision and all the quality checks ensure that we are building quality homes – a factor which is at the core of Network Homes. Building quality is just so important.” John Rowan and Partners John Rowan and Partners is an award-winning property and construction consultancy specialising in the delivery of cost management, project management, building surveying, health and safety, sustainability advice and strategic asset management services to all areas of the construction and property industry. jrp.co.uk 2
Stat of the month:
£142m+
– value of new partnership framework wins
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Welcome to the latest edition of Insight. As we head into 2020, I’ve been reflecting on the last decade which has been an interesting one for the sector, defined by changing politics and economic uncertainty. During this time, we have delivered some monumental projects, from the rebuild of Christchurch in New Zealand following the traumatic earthquake to delivering the new homes at the Athletes' Village post the 2012 Olympics. We’re very proud of the legacies of these projects, from a rebuilt city to the new East London community known as East Village. Today, I’m pleased to say we are continuing to support the delivery of some of the best affordable homes in the world, helping to provide a safer industry through our growing compliance team and delivering landmark hospitality projects. We have just completed year one of our five-year business plan as we look to sustainably grow the business and provide new and exciting career opportunities along the way. In this edition we talk to Network Homes’ David Gooch about the housing market and get his views on joint ventures, and we also tell you a bit more about what we’ve been up to. I hope you enjoy the edition. Gurpal Virdee Managing Partner 3
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Insight talks to Network Homes’ David Gooch to discuss
THE
HOUSING MARKET 4
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Part of the G15 group of London’s largest housing associations, the GLA Development Panel and strategic partner of the London Mayor, Network Homes is a leading voice for delivering quality homes and investing in communities. John Rowan and Partners talks to David Gooch, Executive Director of Development at Network Homes, about the state of the housing market and how with strong partnerships they continue to build quality homes in an uncertain climate…
Talking to David at their Wembley Park head office, just a few metres away from the famous arch, it’s clear that housing has been an overarching theme throughout his career. With over 30 years in the sector, David joined Network Homes in 2014 before moving into his current role last year.
“I’ve always enjoyed working in the housing development & regeneration sector,” he says. “I love the challenge of developing mixed tenure developments that include homes for sale and shared ownership, but where there is a significant proportion of genuinely affordable highquality homes for rent.” Now responsible for delivering Network Homes’ ambitious development programme, which includes building around 5,000 new homes over the next five years and meeting its target of 1,752 new homes as a GLA Strategic Partner, he will also oversee new joint ventures including the 575-home site at Merrick Place in Southall. But while there’s still an insatiable demand for affordable housing
in London, David explains that delivering homes in the capital is challenging: “There is a lot of competition with so many active development players in London, so our greatest challenge has been in securing our own development land so that we can take control of the design and building process using trusted consultants and contractors. Our hard-earned reputation for delivering award winning developments has put us in a good position to work with public and private landowners, and more recently we have successfully concluded two significant land acquisitions with an NHS Trust. The planning system in London is still tricky to navigate, >
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“Our greatest challenge has been in securing our own development land”
particularly on large sites where we work with both the host local authority and the GLA. “Our developments outside London are focused in Hertfordshire and we are looking to strengthen our programme with Homes England to escalate the scale of this programme. This is quite different from our London programme, which focuses on apartment living in taller buildings, as we deliver a broader range of property types such as houses and bungalows.”
Uncertain times Housing associations have been cross-subsidising affordable homes through private sales for a number of years now. But with continued house price uncertainty in London, due in part to Brexit, Network Homes has noticed that some private firms have been much more cautious when it comes to committing to new developments, in some cases withdrawing completely. The Network Homes New Business & Partnership Team are actively considering a multitude of opportunities, but they are identifying which ones to progress and are in dialogue with the GLA & local authorities to maximise the number of affordable homes that can be delivered on sites. Brexit has damaged confidence in the market at a time when house building is reaching crisis point. But for housing associations such as Network Homes, hibernation is not an option and, for the greater good of the country, they need to keep on delivering housing:
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“We’re very driven in terms of what our growth strategy is, and so in order to keep delivering housing we undertake a lot of due diligence stress testing on our developments. We have also undertaken scenario planning in terms of the impact of Brexit on the construction workforce and materials that are sourced from Europe, in order to ensure that housing delivery continues. From the demand side, we are finding that people still want to access our homes for rent, shared ownership and sale, and we had strong demand for our London Living Rent pilot scheme in Harrow and our Build to Rent development in Ealing,” says David. Partnership working Being part of the GLA Development Panel and a Strategic Partner of the London Mayor is a great opportunity for Network Homes, opening doors to more public land by building relationships with health trusts and other public bodies. “It’s quite interesting in the marketplace now – we have been approached by
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developers that are looking to offload some developments,” he continues. “But I think our preference is always to be involved right from the start so that we can shape the design and bring in our own consultant teams like John Rowan and Partners. It’s important that we bring our own approach to it.” Network Homes has been working with John Rowan and Partners for ten years now. To date, John Rowan and Partners has successfully helped them to deliver close to 500 new homes, with the partnership continuing to deliver more over the coming years, including a 150-home scheme in Hounslow which includes a new primary school. David explains: “Working with consultants like John Rowan and Partners is very important to Network Homes. That level of site supervision and all the quality checks ensure that we are building quality homes – a factor which is at the core of Network Homes. Building quality is just so important. Personally I’ve worked with them for about five years now, but their relationship with Network
Homes goes back much further. When I first joined, they were doing a really exciting project in South Kilburn, a multi-awardwinning regeneration scheme. That was my introduction to them and since then they’ve been involved in our plans to redevelop our head office site, which we call the Olympic Office Centre, and our Housing Zone development on the Hounslow Town School site. They’ve been involved with the big projects for us and they’ve also done some of the building forensics work where they help to find defects on previous projects. They have great expertise in this and are a bit of a go-to now for that sort of work.” Focused delivery Talking to David it’s clear that he’s proud of the work that has been put into developing the company’s professional frameworks – and this work is not lost on other organisations and local authorities such as Brent Council, who have asked to utilise the Network Homes Development Team and their frameworks for their own
projects. It’s these relationships that are helping them weather the storm of uncertainty and driving Network Homes towards its ambitious targets. “I think it’s what we pride ourselves on. It takes a significant resource, but we have our own professional frameworks – our architects, our employers agents, our engineers – and ideally we take control of a scheme and have our people in from the outset. With John Rowan and Partners, we know they are a strong, stable practice. They have longevity in terms of their management team and they’re very accessible. Not only do they come with a wealth of knowledge, but they always resource projects appropriately and to scale,” says David. “They are in regular dialogue with my directive team just to ensure that if there are any issues, they are picked up early and dealt with. That’s in their DNA really, making sure client care is at the forefront.” x
“Working with consultants like John Rowan and Partners is very important to Network Homes.”
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Framework
WINS John Rowan and Partners wins role in £72m+ partnership John Rowan and Partners has been appointed as Employer’s Agent on three individual housing projects after supporting negotiations for a partnership agreement between housebuilder Crest Nicholson and housing association Southern Housing Group The appointment is the first time John Rowan and Partners has worked with Southern Housing Group, which is one of the largest providers of affordable housing in the south east and a member of the G15. The contracts will see Crest Nicholson deliver over 850 homes across three schemes in Chobham, Cranleigh (Surrey) and Walthamstow (London) – with 205 to be owned and managed by Southern Housing Group. The homes include private rental homes, affordable rented and shared ownership housing.
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Mash Halai, Chairman and Head of Residential Development and Regeneration at John Rowan and Partners, commented on the appointment: “Special thanks goes to Trevor Greenhalgh, Partner at John Rowan and Partners, and his team who helped to negotiate the deal between Crest Nicholson and the Group. This is a really important relationship for us and we look forward to helping the Group deliver on their vision – bringing much needed homes to these communities.”
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New role with long-term partners One Housing John Rowan and Partners has been successfully reappointed on One Housing’s latest framework which will include acting as Employer’s Agent, Principal Designer, Quantity Surveyor, Site Inspector/Clerk of Works and Party Wall surveyor. A key partner to One Housing since 2006, John Rowan and Partners has already helped them to deliver regeneration projects such as the Ladderswood Estate in Enfield with over 500 new homes, an 85-bedroom hotel and commercial space, feasibility assistance on the regeneration of Camden Goods Yard providing around 680 new homes, and the London Road development in Isleworth, to name but a few.
“For us this is great recognition of the strong relationship we have built with them, our high service delivery levels and the trust they place in us,” said Mash Halai. “We have recently been helping with their Bellamy Close and Byng Street redevelopment proposals, which they are working on with their residents to provide 100 new homes and we are pleased to play a continuing role in delivering much needed housing across London.”
One Housing’s Group Development Director, commented: “We have a significant development programme and anticipate delivering approximately 500 residential units per year, focusing on London and its commuter markets. Building long-term partnerships is at the core of what we do and we’re very pleased to continue to have John Rowan and Partners within our team – supporting us to achieve our housing goals.” >
A member of G15, One Housing is focused on delivering more affordable housing where it is needed. Mike Johnson,
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John Rowan and Partners supports Hyde Group In the last twenty years, John Rowan and Partners has played a leading role in delivering 10,000 new homes in London and the South East – impressive experience that has helped secure its first framework agreement with Hyde. For Hyde they will be undertaking Employer’s Agent, Cost Consultancy and CDM Services.
“This is the first time we have worked with The Hyde Group and we are immensely proud to have secured a place on their framework,” says Mash. “We are looking forward to demonstrating our quality employer’s agent and quantity surveying services while supporting them in their housing delivery objectives.” Established over 50 years ago, Hyde manages around 50,000 homes in London and the South East of England for more than 100,000 residents. Hyde has an impressive housing delivery programme and has set itself the target to deliver
close to 1,500 homes per annum across all tenures and its geographic regions over the next four years. Guy Slocombe, Group Business Development Director at Hyde, said: “Delivering great quality homes for people who need them is at the heart of everything we do. We are looking forward to working with our new framework consultants including John Rowan and Partners who will help us to realise our housing aspirations to deliver both estate regeneration and, ultimately, a great home for everyone.”
John Rowan and Partners joins in on first major project with L&Q Wandsworth Exchange is a £70m+ strategic town centre redevelopment on the old South Thames College site. It will deliver 201 new one, two and three bedroom homes, including 21 shared ownership apartments close to central London.
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More than just a housing development, Wandsworth Exchange, is set to deliver a whole new community with five commercial outlets, a library and refurbished teaching facilities for the college, all in the heart of south London. Mash Halai said, “L&Q are one of the most prolific housing associations in the London area, with the ambitious goal of delivering 100,000 new homes over the next ten years. Helping them towards this target is a very exciting prospect, and we hope Wandsworth Exchange will be the first of many collaborations between our two organisations.”
Construction began in early 2017, and John Rowan and Partners has been acting as employer’s agent and cost consultant for the project since mid-2018, working closely with the L&Q team to bring this fantastic project to completion. Vicky Savage, London Managing Director at L&Q, said, “We’re extremely happy to be working with John Rowan and Partners on one of our largest urban renewal projects in London. Their expertise in large, complex projects will no doubt ensure that this project stays on course through to fruition.” x
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Is there a perfect project for a JV?
Continuing our series of papers on joint ventures (JVs), we ask David Gooch, Executive Director of Development at Network Homes, about his experience with them… Tell us about your experience with JVs? As a business we have undertaken a number of JVs to date and, largely, they have all been very positive. JVs have enabled us to tap into a wider skill set of some first class companies and share the risk, and rewards, of developing and financing the whole of the project. Our first significant joint venture was at 243 Ealing Road in Alperton Gateway where we worked with Hill Partnership, which went very well, and more recently we worked with Stanhope for our Grosvenor House joint venture.
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We’ve learnt some important lessons already, the most important of which was ‘alignment of objectives’ – you really need partners that are in it for the medium to long term. That said, the market is a dynamic one, so to respond to significant future changes there is a need for clearly setting out your exit provisions, should either party need to de-couple. We work with some great companies through our Contractor Framework, as well as developers who are in the main part of the GLA Development Panel. We are also talking with the GLA, Homes England and local authorities about our growth ambitions, so I believe that the experience and expertise of the Network’s development means we can help orchestrate more JVs.
I don’t think there is necessarily a perfect project, but due to the resource and time that is needed in setting them up there must be a reasonably good sized development involved. I think for a successful JV there is typically a 200-250 homes minimum, but in London this may reduce if there is a significant commercial element to the project, so I think there must be flexibility to allow for that. Due to the time, resource and relationship building that is required, we also like to find joint venture partners who want to do more than one project with us. What advice would you give on running an effective JV? Good communication and aligning your objectives are key. Bringing in good consultants to help support your role is vital. The likes of John Rowan and Partners can act as JV brokers/moderators to facilitate communication and discussion. This type of counsel is important when bringing together organisations with different backgrounds, objectives and working practices. At every stage of a JV we are also very keen to review our approach. We undertake a constant cycle of lessons learned to shine a spotlight on what we’ve achieved and make sure we continually improve.
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“We’ve learnt some important lessons already, the most important of which was ‘alignment of objectives’” What does the future hold for Network Homes and JVs?
What does the future of housing delivery look like?
One of our strengths at Network Homes is the fact that we are agile – because of our size we can respond quickly to any new joint venture opportunities. With new entrants coming into the JV market we want to be receptive to new ideas, and more recently we are looking at tripartite JVs. For example, working with a local authority who may put the land into the pot and then work with us and another private developer to deliver the regeneration scheme and share the sales risk. This model minimises the investment needed by a local authority while ultimately providing the local community with additional high quality, affordable housing.
All the political parties are supportive of our mission to increase the number of genuinely affordable new homes that we can deliver. Our challenge is to make sure we work with the right partners and that we get the design and quality right. We don’t just do volume; our housing must stand the test of time. What do you mean when you talk about design and quality? Design and quality runs through every aspect of housing, from the home itself to how we look at developments in terms of the public realm. We want to create a sense of place. As we
take on bigger opportunities, such as South Kilburn, the public realm must be a key part of that development. We are spending more and more time and attention to deliver well designed neighbourhoods. JVs have helped us to learn by working first-hand with some of the UK’s most successful developers, such as Quintain, who are behind the 85-acre redevelopment of Wembley. We can learn invaluable lessons on how they approach and deliver it. Understanding the neighbourhoods is also vital and this can only be achieved by talking to and listening to the people who live within them. Our goal is to not just be recognised by the number of homes we manage (which is often the benchmark for housing associations) but by the quality of our neighbourhoods. x
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Insight talks to John Rowan and Partners’ Sean Tobin The construction industry and the banking sector are two of the world’s oldest institutions, each playing a key part in the other’s growth. But with little common ground between them and a rise in new lending streams, Sean Tobin, head of John Rowan and Partners’ bank monitoring team, talks about the importance of monitoring projects to help bridge the communication gap and deliver the best for both worlds… By their very nature, banks and lending organisations do not like to take risk; in contrast, construction projects are exposed to a wide variety of risk and uncertainty.
The list of issues which can befall a construction project is considerable. These range from challenging ground works, project variations, poor weather and force majeure events to planning restrictions and supply chain issues, to name just a few. The construction industry is also incredibly complex and prone to disputes, cost overruns and
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delays. For any lender without an in-depth knowledge of construction processes, this can be a daunting sector to finance. But luckily help is at hand and the professional practice of bank monitoring can help to limit your risk exposure and ensure that the administration of a loan is kept within the acceptable levels of risk.
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Why surveyors? The principal reason for using a construction consultant to support finance is to bridge the gap between the needs of the financial lender and the needs of the construction project. It doesn’t matter whether you are a new type of lender or a traditional bank – using an independent expert to monitor your construction project is sound business practice.
New lenders in the market While Brexit has caused some uncertainty in the market, the advantages of investing in the UK construction industry still remain. According to the Bank of England and De Montfort University (DMU), lending in 2016 by UK banks and building societies to private property companies increased by 1% to £135 billion, despite the Brexit vote. We are also seeing a change in who is financing construction projects. While historically UK banks and building societies have always been the dominant lenders, this position has recently diminished and now accounts for around 47% of loans, compared to around 60%,10 years ago.* Today, a broader range of lenders, such as online banks, insurance companies and debt funds, has emerged. These non-traditional lenders accounted for 20% of new lending in 2016, and look set to increase their market share in the coming years.
For one, most lenders don’t have adequate in-house expertise or the resource to be regularly on site carrying out project monitoring and reporting. And without forensic knowledge of construction processes, issues may be missed and loans put in jeopardy. At the same time it is often unwise to rely on the developer’s project manager as there is a potential conflict of interest. So while the role of bank monitoring is complementary to the traditional project manager, it is advisable to make sure it is independent – ensuring that your financial interests come first. Using a third party consultant means that you can immediately tap into extensive construction expertise and experience. For example, we have detailed knowledge of cost estimating, contractual matters, programme issues, project bank accounts and the common pitfalls for a lender. All this experience means that we can help to keep a construction project on track, monitor all aspects of the
programme and identify any issues which could impact your ability to recover your debt.
Communicate well and quickly Bank monitoring is by no means a new service and it is a common requirement for many lending institutions – but there are ways it can be improved across the sector. All too often project monitoring and reporting is seen as a ‘one size fits all’ approach, however this rarely works and effective bank monitoring should be flexible and take into account the diverse practices, technical complexities and costs within the construction industry. For us the role of the Bank Monitor is not one of an inspector, but should be seen as an opportunity to bring in a ‘problem solver’ who can work with all parties to get a construction project completed - maximising the return for all. Key to this is the ability to respond quickly and provide up to date information and solutions to mitigate issues – helping to keep the programme on track without delay from either side. Our advice is simple if you are financing a construction project come and talk to us, we can provide you with the very best service and protection. With over 30 years’ experience of managing projects across the world, we can ensure that you make an informed decision at every step. x *reference - PIA-Property-Data-Report-2017.PDF
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PROJECT FOCUS
Kicking off the 2019 summer awards season, our McGrath Road project has won Best Social or Affordable New Housing Development at the 2019 London Regional LABC Building Excellence Awards. John Rowan and Partners provided multidisciplinary services for the £6.7m development which was designed by Peter Barber Architects and built by Mulalley & Co for the London Borough of Newham.
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Cleverly designed with back to back living, the scheme re-envisioned a previous application for 20 basic flats built across two towers. Today it provides 26 new shared equity two and three bedroom homes, beautifully designed with highly complex brick structures and large feature arches.
“As Employer’s Agent, Cost Consultant, Principal Designer and H&S advisors, we worked closely with the London Borough of Newham, Peter Barber and Mulalley to help ensure the delivery of this beautiful new street in East London. Initially, this site was intended for affordable rent properties, but following the client’s change of strategy we liaised with and managed stakeholders to rework the scheme with Peter Barber and maximise its market value,” explains Mash Halai, Chairman and Head of
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Images courtesy of Peter Barber architects
Residential Development and Regeneration at John Rowan and Partners. John Rowan and Partners are the sole consultant on a 10year multi-disciplinary contract with the London Borough of Newham, as well as part of a four-year framework. The consultancy has been working closely with the council for over a decade on various projects. Mash added: “Located near Stratford, we know this area well, as we delivered the Athletes’ Village to its subsequent transformation into
East Village in the Olympic Park. It’s great to see the continued development of this area and this new picturesque street is certainly a great new asset for the community.” Boasting unique architecture and a contemporary design, the site is finished to a high quality and a great example of how affordable housing can go hand in hand with great design. The houses feature double height arcaded frontages, a top floor living room and private balconies or roof terraces.
The LABC Building Excellence Awards is a prestigious annual event, celebrating the essence of good buildings using technical excellence, innovation, green and sustainable building quality, good team working, high performance and problem solving. Paul Everall CBE, Chief Executive at LABC, said: “These awards are different. They aren’t about good looks or fancy design (although many winners incorporate both). They are about quality and standards. No other building awards look at how well buildings are put together from start to finish and the skills and competencies of those who design and construct them. We are very proud of everyone involved – they show the way ahead for the industry.” Following on from this regional success, McGrath Road has also qualified as a finalist for the LABC Grand Finals 2019 in November in London. x 17
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HOSPITALITY & LEISURE
AMAZING S PA C E S
As part of their ongoing project management of the Hilton London Metropole renovation, John Rowan and Partners have overseen the transformation of its rooftop Vista@23 event space and Monarch Suite ballroom hospitality spaces.
The John Rowan and Partners hospitality team recently completed the renovation of the new Vista@23 event space at the hotel. Benefitting from panoramic views across central London, the new space provides a stunning location for both private and business events.
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Paul Sherwood, Head of Hospitality and Leisure at John Rowan and Partners, commented: “With the fantastic teams at Hilton and Perkins + Will, we’ve helped turn an outdated and underused bar area into a wonderful new multi-function event space. Already popular, the space is very versatile, with
lots of light creating a sense of space and a separate informal area where people can mingle and network.” Working closely with the events team and supply chain, John Rowan and Partners oversaw
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space in the heart of central London, featuring state-ofthe-art events technology. It can be configured to accommodate anything from a theatre experience with a large stage set, to a more intimate reception drinks event. the delivery of the beautifully designed space, which can be used for meetings, conferences and is perfect for networking groups.
To achieve this, John Rowan and Partners not only incorporated what was previously back-of-house space into the main arena to increase
“By enlisting moveable wall specialists Ezyglide, we’ve not only increased the versatility of the space itself, but opened up additional potential income streams within the hotel’s conference and events offering. The challenging logistics make seeing the new working space in action all the more satisfying – this amazing suite opens up a whole host of opportunities for the Hilton London Metropole,” says Paul. The overall renovation makes the Monarch Suite a truly multifunctional conference
Remco Norden, General Manager at the Hilton London Metropole, says, “We’re delighted with the transformation that John Rowan and Partners have helped to deliver. They have been a pleasure to work with, and delivered to a very demanding programme to hand the space back to us in time for a key client event. The Monarch Suite retains its ability to host impressive events featuring large-scale centrepieces, but now also has the flexibility to host up to six separate events simultaneously when required. This has all been achieved with minimal disruption to the running of the hotel and executed with the greatest respect for Hilton’s brand and service values.” x 19
HOSPITALITY & LEISURE
In addition, the team has updated and reconfigured the 16,000-sqft Monarch Suite ballroom and conferencing facility. A major requirement of the renovation was to install new air walls, allowing this vast entertainment space to be divided into as many as six separate rooms.
the overall front of house space, but also converted what had been service corridors into public areas allowing individual access to the six possible rooms.
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Company update Mash Halai, Chairman
from
CHAIRMAN MASH
John Rowan and Partners ‘Highly Commended’ for major Building Award! We are very pleased to announce that we were ‘Highly Commended’ by the judges for Construction Consultant/ Surveyor of the Year, for companies with fewer than 100 staff, at this year’s Building Awards. We had a great night at the awards ceremony, celebrating the projects, people and businesses that make up our great construction industry! This achievement is testament to the people that make up our business and serves to demonstrate our ability to continually adapt and overcome changing markets.
WE HAVE NOW LAUNCHED OUR LATEST FIVE-YEAR PLAN FOR POSITIVE GROWTH We are very proud of our achievements and excited by the opportunities for growth ahead to see where the next five years will take us. Our overall aim is for all the teams to hit their key business targets and achieve a minimum revenue of £13m, with a 100+ strong team. Key points in our new five-year strategy are: • Live our Values. • Work smarter, flexibly and efficiently. • Trust our team. • P rovide high quality service to maximise repeat business. • F ocussed and considered entry into new sectors, workstreams and skills.
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• M aintain strong presence in the public sector and develop private sector areas, especially hospitality.
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MORE SUCCESS FROM OUR APC CLUB
John Rowan and Partners recognised as an Investor In People We have been awarded the Silver Investors accreditation against the Investors in People (IIP) Standard. Investors in People is the international standard for people management, defining what it takes to lead, support and manage people effectively to achieve sustainable results. Working with clients across the globe, Investors in People enables organisations to benchmark against the best in the business on an international scale. Paul Devoy, Head of Investors in People said : “Investors in People accreditation is the sign of a great employer, and an organisation committed to achieving success by realising the potential of their people. John Rowan and Partners should be extremely proud of their achievement.”
Training and development news We’ve also developed our John Rowan and Partners Training Programme which aims to develop our talent from within, focusing on personal skills as well as technical competency. There will be a programme specifically for managers and a programme open for everyone to join. The training programme will focus on softer and technical skills.
We developed the APC Club back in 2016 and it works by allowing each of our candidates to be matched with a counsellor and supervisor, they undertake regular meetings with both, in order to track progress and ensure they are provided with all the help and support they need. In addition to this, bespoke inhouse training sessions are run monthly by both internal and external experts in the field. The company funds all the required training, travel, resources, and a weeks’ dedicated study leave for every individual. Over the years we’ve had great success from our club and I’m pleased to say this year is no different. Congratulations to Avraam Kontos, Krishan Halai, Dominic Cherry and Panagiotis Karoullas who have all passed their APC. It’s also a 100% pass rate for our APC Club!
We launched our All Stars programme a year ago and each quarter we select an All Star from employee nominations – someone who has gone above and beyond, reflecting our company values. So far our All Stars are Thomas Farrell, Rachael Comer and Avraam Kontos. Huge congratulations to you all and hope you enjoy your special gifts!
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Society news: Awards / Socials / Appointments Welcome / New starters Since the last edition of Insight we’ve continued to grow revenue, profit and our team numbers. We are now approaching 100 people and have welcomed 22 new starters so far in 2019, with more planned over the next 12 months!
Sporting Success / Football Champions The John Rowan and Partners 7-a-side football team trotted out for the Breyer foundation tournament at Leyton Orient this summer and went on to win the tournament on penalties! A great result raising money for charity and another trophy to add to the cabinet.
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Charity / JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge The John Rowan and Partners team of runners and walkers took part in the annual 5.6km JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge at Battersea Park in July, raising money for a wonderful and worthwhile charity, Radio Lollipop.
Sponsorship / Ealing Cricket Club & Ealing’s Pitshanger FC U13s Our sponsorship of Ealing Cricket Club continues and we look forward to celebrating their 150th anniversary with them in 2020. Continuing our support of the local community, we are also sponsoring Ealing’s Pitshanger FC U13s and we wish them a successful season!
Charity / Dragon Boat Racing Rowan’s Rowers entered the Dragon Boat Challenge at the West Reservoir, London, in June. Much fun and hilarity was had by all, and all in aid of a worthy cause – CRASH charity.
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John Rowan and Partners UK head office Craven House 40 Uxbridge Road Ealing London W5 2BS General contact T: +44 (0)20 8567 6995 E: jrp@jrp.co.uk W: jrp.co.uk
