A Career in Construction Part 22

I'm not sure how we were allowed to win our next contract. The office building for Digital at the Solent Business Park was pure design and build and we were only supposedly Wiltshier Construction Management. Maybe we were already treading on the toes of other southern divisions of the group. Or our chairman and the group MD wanted to give us a decent start. We won this contract in the February of 1988, took on some new staff and suddenly, with the Hilton job going full pelt, we were very busy. I was heavily involved with tendering and placing the first Sub-Contracts on the Digital contract before our new surveyor started.

We had taken on an estimator and settled him in the portacabin at Harmondsworth. He was invaluable in us winning the Digital contract and others to come. However, we needed some decent office space. We found a cheap office to rent in Ruislip and after some quick redecoration, we moved in on 6th June 1988.

During the second half of the year the group decided to wind down Wiltshier DMC (design, manage and construct) and transfer their outstanding contracts to our company. These contracts certainly did wonders for our portfolio of contracts, and our balance sheet. They included student accomodation at Stag Hill for the University of Reading amongst many others.

We also took on our own accountant (later to become Financial Director) and a Construction Director. We started a job for Portex in Kent and a small residential complex at Shirland Road in London. The next major job to be won was a management contract at Richford Street in West London.

So 1988 had been a momentous year, probably the most enjoyable of my career. From a portacabin to some almost reasonable offices, a good number of contracts and a growing number of staff. Could we keep it up?