So how much work has it got? The group is expecting to spend about £150m this fiscal year (October 2003 to September 2004). That's nearly 2000 projects, ranging in size from £5000 refurbishments to £4m new-build jobs.
What's the work like? Quick. The firm's refurbishment work is particularly speedy; it recently oversaw a £100,000 fit-out on an All Bar One in central London in just five days. It also has a lot of maintenance work to deal with: its property management phone line takes about 4000 calls a week, of which 65% generate a reactive order.
Most of the calls are responded to in four hours. There's also a wide variety of work. For instance, the firm has just completed a thatched pub near Reading.
Who's in charge? Sean Darley, director of portfolio, heads the group's building management department. He's quite a bullish chap. In an email containing enormous detail about the firm, Shaun sums up: "We're brilliant, we love what we do and we think our part of the construction industry is fantastic because we make it so. I don't listen to the many merchants of doom and gloom (Colin Harding, John Smith and Tony Bingham spring to mind); I promote constant evolution and improvement and find new ways to innovate and challenge. But, unlike some commentators, I do it as well as talk about it." Okay then, Shaun.
What's it like to work for the firm, then? According to the ebullient Shaun hardly any disputes arise with Mitchells & Butlers and most projects are handed over on time, within budget and 100% defect-free. Here's more from Shaun (he's obviously on a roll now): "The culture that exists within the team, the willingness and the capability to get behind a problem or task, the comradeship and help we all give each other, is second to none.
Face it: we are simply the best!"
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