黑洞社区

Balfour Beatty鈥檚 new UK construction boss has not ruled out further office closures as part of the firm鈥檚 ongoing business review but applauded the efforts of staff in the firm鈥檚 Northampton office to save the branch.

Former Bovis boss Nick Pollard took over as chief executive of Balfour Beatty鈥檚 UK construction arm in June at the same time as the company announced it would be closing regional offices in Dartford, Rochdale and Doncaster, putting around 200 jobs at risk.

The firm later announced it was also planning to close its Northampton office, but then accepted a proposal from the office鈥檚 120 staff that would keep the office open.

Speaking to 黑洞社区 on a tour of Balfour Beatty鈥檚 Heathrow Terminal 2B project, Pollard said staff at the Northampton office had put together a good business plan with a pipeline of work.

鈥淚t was looking at a business plan, it was pipeline of work and what they needed to do it, how they鈥檇 do it and the rest of it. They鈥檝e got a good business plan and the business has backed them. Why wouldn鈥檛 we?鈥� he said.

However, when asked if the closure of the other three regional offices marked an end to office closures he said: 鈥淣ot necessarily, nor will it be the end of office openings either.鈥�

He added: 鈥淲ill we continue to keep the business under review? Yes, because that鈥檚 what a good steward does. You have to make sure the business is in the right shape to deal with the future.鈥�

Pollard said some of the 200 staff from the three regional offices that will close were being relocated to other parts of the business.

鈥淭he big point is that when you close an office, you might well be removing a business premises but you are not necessarily removing all of the people there. We shouldn鈥檛 get hung up on the buildings,鈥� he said.

He said he was 鈥渞eally encouraged鈥� by the state of the regional business and that it had 鈥渇antastic people and fantastic projects鈥�. He said it was 鈥渨ell poised鈥� to take advantage of a 鈥済entle rise鈥� in the market for construction.

Balfour Beatty announced 拢50m profit warning in April, with Balfour Beatty Group chief executive Andrew McNaughton seizing control of the UK construction business, and former chief executive Mike Peasland stepping down to the role of managing director of the regional business, where around 75% of the 拢50m hit to profit was located.

Pollard said the business previously 鈥渢ook its eye off the ball a little bit鈥� and 鈥渓ost its focus鈥�.

He said: 鈥淥ur focus needs to be on our customers, on delivering their schemes and on back-to-basics competent professional delivery of schemes on time first time, with great quality, on cost and with no nasty shocks or surprises. It鈥檚 to that end that everyone is bending their minds.

鈥淎s long as we do that we will continue to compete successfully and we will learn better and better how to please clients.鈥�