黑洞社区

Gardiner & Theobald (G&T) is both one of the most successful British independent construction consultants, and one of the most private. So it may come as a surprise to many in the industry to learn that one of its partners, Tony Burton, will this week take on a very public role as chairman of the Construction Industry Council (CIC), heading the lobbying organisation for the construction professions. Not only that, but Burton takes over from media-savvy, outgoing chair and former RIBA president Jack Pringle.

Under Pringle鈥檚 leadership the CIC has become a more visible organisation. The government is working together with the industry on a huge range of issues, from payment terms to procurement to the roll-out of building information modelling (BIM), through major policies like the construction strategy and the 2025 industrial strategy for construction. The CIC is at the heart of this and increasingly seen as the professions鈥� main conduit to government, no small feat when you consider that as recently as five years ago the RICS was considering quitting the CIC on the grounds it didn鈥檛 consider it value for money.

A quiet and measured person, Burton is the first to admit he鈥檒l be a 鈥渄ifferent character鈥� in the role than his gregarious predecessor Pringle. But he is keen to make his mark. He also takes up the CIC鈥檚 place on the heavyweight Construction Leadership Council (CLC), the committee set up by chief construction adviser Peter Hansford to implement the 2025 industrial strategy.
In a first floor meeting room in G&T鈥檚 central London headquarters, Burton reveals his priorities for CIC under his leadership and some of the secrets behind G&T鈥檚 success as one of the last remaining independent UK QSs. So what should we expect from him?

Skills shortage

There are a number of issues high on Burton鈥檚 agenda as CIC chairman. But while helping construction consultants and the government improve their sustainability credentials, rolling out BIM and capitalising on the export potential of British construction consultancy services are all areas that require important work, it is clear his main focus will be twofold: helping the industry address skills shortages and improving the image of construction.

Skills shortages are only set to get worse as the market picks up and firms pay the price of not recruiting, training or retaining enough staff during the downturn. 黑洞社区鈥檚 2014 consultants鈥� salary survey, published last month, found 68% of consultants predict skills shortages over the next 12 months. Burton says the CIC will continue to lobby the government 禄 禄 to put construction professions on the UK鈥檚 skills shortages register, which would enable construction firms to obtain visas for overseas professionals more easily. But he admits this is not a long-term solution as 鈥渆xperience says they don鈥檛 stay very long鈥�.

鈥淭here鈥檚 no quick fix,鈥� Burton says. 鈥淲e鈥檙e a minimum of five or six years away from graduates coming through.鈥� Burton says under his leadership the CIC will explore areas where it can help open up other 鈥渇aster鈥� routes for people to enter the construction professions. He has first-hand experience of working with young would-be surveyors as a part-time lecturer at London Southbank and Leeds Metropolitan universities, and in this capacity is now working with London Southbank to restructure its surveying courses to 鈥渁ttract more young people鈥�.

But these shortages can鈥檛 be addressed without looking at Burton鈥檚 other top priority - improving the image of construction. 鈥淲hen you ask young people about construction, you don鈥檛 get many complimentary or flattering remarks,鈥� he admits. 鈥淲hy is it that society doesn鈥檛 value construction professionals? Construction has helped address some of society鈥檚 biggest problems, such as sanitation and railways. Today it should be about firing up young people about the next big challenges, such as climate change.鈥�

Construction has helped address some of society鈥檚 biggest problems. Today it should be about firing up young people about the next big challenges

He says the CLC will lobby for public funds for an 鈥渋mage campaign鈥� to help attract the 鈥渘ext generation鈥� into the industry. Burton believes improving the image of construction will 鈥渉elp improve the diversity of the professions鈥� in terms of attracting more women and ethnic minority entrants, another key Construction 2025 target.

But can organisations like the CIC and CLC really affect change, given the industry鈥檚 torrid reputation for being fragmented and unable to speak with a single voice to government? Last year outgoing chief construction adviser Paul Morrell called it a source of 鈥渕assive frustration鈥� that efforts to bring the construction industry together as a single voice under the Strategic Forum failed after the UK Contractors鈥� Group opted out. Burton agrees 鈥渋t has been massively frustrating鈥� but argues the CLC can perform this single-voice role. 鈥淲e have got a different arrangement now with CLC and we鈥檝e got to make it work,鈥� he says. 鈥淭here鈥檚 been a lot of debate about the CLC鈥檚 composition, but I would say I don鈥檛 really mind what it is. We have got it now and we have to use it. It鈥檒l evolve.鈥� On the Strategic Forum question, he says: 鈥淲hat it can usefully do is act as an industry forum for debate prior to the industry moving into a CLC meeting, where government is also at the table.鈥�

Burton says he sees his role as CIC chairman as being equivalent to 鈥渃onducting an orchestra鈥�. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a score out there that you鈥檝e got to follow. But if somebody starts playing jazz when the score is classical, you have to address that.鈥� He adds: 鈥淚t鈥檚 not my role to set the agenda, it鈥檚 to listen to what the members are really saying.鈥�

Burton has shadowed outgoing chairman Pringle for the past year as his deputy chairman and Pringle will step down to deputy chairman to support Burton in his first year in the top job. 鈥淲hile our approaches may differ, I don鈥檛 think our objectives do. Our principles are the same,鈥� says Burton. Will he match Pringle鈥檚 ability to be highly vocal when required to fight for CLC鈥檚 interests? 鈥淚n the right places, yes,鈥� he replies.

Family affair

This measured view may be because courting publicity is not something in G&T鈥檚 DNA. Burton admits G&T shies away from the limelight: 鈥淭here are certain things you don鈥檛 want to share outside the family.鈥� But he indicated the firm was considering opening up more to the media.

Burton is part of senior partner Simon Jones鈥� core management team, sitting on the consultant鈥檚 main board and its finance team. He is also leader of 鈥渁 large cost management business unit鈥�. From what he does say about G&T, he could be accused of a Panglossian view of the business, saying 鈥渆very area of the business is doing particularly well鈥� in recent months, including 鈥渁cross the UK regions; across all sectors鈥�, while he describes performance in the US as 鈥渜uite remarkable鈥�. In the last couple of years the firm has also launched in Scandinavia. Even where 鈥渢he recession鈥� prompted the firm to sell its offices in central and eastern Europe to start-ups set up by its former partners in the region, Burton says these businesses are 鈥渄oing far better鈥� on their own.

However, while Burton maintains a rosy outlook, a look at G&T鈥檚 most recent accounts shows it hasn鈥檛 been an easy journey to get to this point. The firm enjoyed a solid year in its last set of published accounts to 30 April 2013, with profit edging up 4% to 拢18.3m, but this was its first rise in profit in four years. At the same time its partnership expanded by 20 to 143. However, turnover fell 5% to 拢106.7m, with the UK falling most by 9% to 拢82.9m. The UK regions contracted particularly sharply, by 27%, following on from the merger of a number of its regional offices. Nevertheless, in London the firm performed strongly and poached work and staff from rivals in recent months, such as much of Aecom鈥檚 King鈥檚 Cross work and team, including the proposed Google UK headquarters building. Overseas the firm has a lead role on one of the largest and most ambitious construction programmes in the world, as lead cost consultant on the 2022 Qatar World Cup.

He says G&T鈥檚 ownership structure as an independent partnership has been 鈥渃ritical鈥� to its solid performance since the downturn, and that the firm benefits from being answerable to equity partners rather than external shareholders and investors, allowing it to be flexible. 鈥淚f we need to meet to discuss something we鈥檒l meet to discuss it right away.鈥� Major decisions are taken 鈥渋n many cases by small groups鈥� within the equity partnership. He says the firm is absolutely committed to independence, despite the spate of firms that have sold up. 鈥淲e鈥檙e not short of cash and we don鈥檛 have an ageing demographic of partners. Almost all of the reasons why you would sell don鈥檛 apply to us.鈥�

Perhaps surprisingly, given G&T鈥檚 ever-expanding global footprint, Burton says the firm doesn鈥檛 set itself hard and fast targets. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 target anything. We don鈥檛 have a strategic view. We鈥檒l acquire a retail expert in Mexico. We simply follow our clients,鈥� he says. Pushed further, Burton admits they have targets, but they pride themselves on flexibility: 鈥淲e鈥檙e not slaves to them,鈥� he says.

As he adapts to his chairman role of CIC, Burton may become more accustomed to talking the language of targets. Construction consultants will want to know he is the right man to build on the organisation鈥檚 recent momentum.