Our Cleaning Supervisor, Dan along with some very special helpers from a local primary school got together last weekend to build a bug hotel for Handforth Dean Retail Park. Bug hotels create a safe hideaway for wildlife and a well-built bug hotel can shelter anything from hedgehogs to toads, solitary bees to ladybirds and woodlice.
Dan commented, “At Handforth Dean Retail Park we want to create a sustainable environment for wildlife. By using recycled materials and donations, we have created two bug hotels, bird houses and insect hotels with are now dotted around the park to attract more wildlife. We’ve also planted a variety of colourful plants in the area too!”.
What a wonderful project. Special thanks to all the children involved in building the bug hotel!
Our people are what make us special. From saving lives and preventing crime to helping people in need and much more. Our Reward and Recognition scheme is our way of saying thank you to our Colleagues for the amazing work that they do each and every day, often going above and beyond in their role.
Well done to all our winners and everyone who has been nominated for an award this quarter – you are all amazing!
Our 2023 Quarter 3 winners are:
Site Manager of the Quarter
Chris Struck – Quadrant Shopping Centre
Colleague of the Quarter
Jack Harty – Grosvenor Shopping Centre
Chairman’s Colleague of the Quarter
Lucy Wood – Head Office
Newcomer of the Quarter
Gelson Mattos – Broadway Shopping Centre
Team of the Quarter
Telford Centre
CSR of the Quarter
Jane Gerrard – Spindles Town Square
H&S Champion
Anton Morris – Queens quare Shopping Centre
Lee Stones – Haymarket Shopping Centre
Outstanding Act
Carl Williams & Hassan Mehmood (Tata) – Ryemarket Shopping Centre
Anton Morris – Queens Square Shopping Centre
David Mann & Jonathan Chandler – Touchwood Shopping Centre
Service Excellence
Lewis Horne – The Moor
Ricky Law & Bernard Thelwell – Stamford Quarter
Kevin Harvoutt – Ryemarket Shopping Centre
James Archer – Houndshill Shopping Centre
Cleaning & Security Team – Broadway Shopping Centre
Neil Merrick – Willow Brook Shopping Centre
Ricky Law, Matthew Barrett, Nigel Coldrick & James Thompson – Stamford Quarter
Rafal Teleszko, Miriam Contre & Ioan Leonate – High Chelmer
John O’Neill – Touchwood Shopping Centre
Congratulations to all our winning colleagues and to everyone who was nominated in Quarter 3.
If you wish to nominate a colleague for a Reward & Recognition award, click here.
To see a list of all our previous winners, click here.
At the weekend, our Head of Heath and Safety, Angela and Bid Manager, Lucy took on a tough endurance challenge; the Ullswater Way in the Lake District, a 22 mile walk taking in 875m of ascent, to raise money for our charity partner, Mind Over Mountains. The walk took 10 and a half hours to complete, taking in some amazing views of the lake.
The challenge team raised £5k which will really help the charity and enable the charity to provide mental health support to even more people through their outdoor events and retreats.
Mind Over Mountains is a ground breaking charity offering mental health support through its unique combination of guided walking in nature with professional counselling & coaching as you hike. No pressure, no judgement, but a safe place to find support whilst also having the proven mental health benefits nature & exercise give.
We are extremely pleased to announce that our colleague Julie, from Touchwood Shopping Centre has won the Frontline Security Officer category in this year’s Women In Security Awards!
Julie was nominated by her Manager, Mark in the Frontline category. “Julie is the epitome of professionalism and an asset to not just this team but all security, it is her tenacious dedication to her work and empathetic responsiveness that makes her stand out. It is no exaggeration to say that without her contributions we would not have won our regional BSIA Team of The Year Award.”
This year’s event was held at Shakespere’s Underglobe Theatre in London, recognising and honouring the accomplishments, value and contributions of women within the wider world of security.
We are extremely pleased to announce that Julie Deeming from Touchwood Shopping Centre has been recognised as a Finalist in the Women in Security Awards 2023.
Julie has been nominated by Dual Service Manager, Mark Driscoll for her contribution to Touchwood Shopping Centre over the past year. Mark commented, “Julie is exceptional, she is the epitome of professionalism and an asset to not just this team but all security, it is her tenacious dedication to her work and empathetic responsiveness that makes her stand out and it is no exaggeration to say that without her contributions we would not have won our regional BSIA Team of the year award.”
We wish Julie the very best of luck in the finals which take place at Shakespeare’s Underglobe Theatre in London on 14th September.
See the full list of finalists here: https://professionalsecurity.co.uk/wis/
The Westgrove Group are delighted to announce the appointment of Glenn Wilson as the Group’s Managing Director.
Pictured L-R; Steve Fives – Group Chairman, Claire McKinley-Smith – CEO, Glenn Wilson – Group Managing Director & Simon Whittle – Group Chairman.
Glenn joins the business with a wealth of industry experience, gained most notably with Incentive FM. This ultimately resulted in a Senior Board role as Divisional Director in the Retail and distribution arenas.
Glenn has delivered proven success stories with innovative and sustainable service solutions across all sectors of the FM market. His aspirational leadership played a pivotal role in the company’s meteoric success in the Midlands and North regions. This success also contributed significantly with a more global dynamic to the overall sustained growth before its recent merger/sale to a renowned plc in the market.
Glenn comments upon his move to Westgrove; “I have admired the Westgrove brand from afar for a number of years. The colleague centric DNA and the company’s true partnering ethos aligns perfectly with my own values and business objectives. It has huge appeal working within an ambitious independent business once again and I’m thrilled to be joining the company as its Managing Director. This is an exciting time for the business and I’m genuinely looking forward to meeting all of our colleagues and partners over the coming weeks”.
From a market perspective there has been a steady rise in the number of acquisitions of renowned independent operators over the last couple of years. This has subsequently reduced the amount of choice for those preferring the benefits of partnering with collaborative flex that working with an independently owned business like Westgrove can provide.
Co Chairman & Founder, Steve Fives explains the rationale around Glenn’s exciting appointment; “Simon (Whittle), Claire (McKinley-Smith) and I collectively feel that we can provide a real niche in the market as there aren’t many businesses of our experience and size now working in this specialised space. Glenn’s exciting appointment as our Group Managing Director, with his undoubted pedigree, was our opportunity to make a real statement of intent about our future aspirations for the business.
Glenn has continually and consistently demonstrated his leadership abilities throughout his distinguished career, most pertinently within a leading independent organisation. In a year where Westgrove celebrates its 25-year anniversary, it seems incredibly exciting that we’re strengthening our Board and leadership team to equip the business with the necessary infrastructure to fulfil our growth ambitions”.
Glenn’s appointment sees Claire McKinley-Smith transition to a more strategic role as CEO for the Group.
Pictured L-R; Glenn Wilson & Claire McKinley Smith
Steve adds “This key strategic appointment has been richly deserved. Claire started her career with Westgrove in 2011 as our Operations Director. Within 2 years Claire was promoted to the role of Managing Director and subsequently Group Managing Director in 2015.
Claire has been the company’s veritable dynamo over this time and has been instrumental in establishing the brand within the Shopping Centre sector, also successfully launching the brand into new complimentary sectors during her tenure as MD. Very recently Claire has played a pivotal role with Simon and I in forming our rapidly expanding ‘Technical Services’ company creating our multi-faceted Total Facilities Management (TFM) offering.
Pictured Westgrove Leadership Team
Simon and I are delighted to welcome Glenn into the business and extend our warm congratulations to Claire in her new executive role for the company. We both feel that we have a leadership team that can propel the business to unprecedented and sustainable new levels”.
The SCEPTRE Awards recognise the best practice and the best people in the shopping centre industry.
They are the pre-eminent accolades in the shopping centre industry, putting the spotlight on management teams, retailers and suppliers that demonstrate real excellence.
The awards are in their 24rd year and this year’s glittering event was held at the Hilton London Bankside Hotel on Thursday 19th October, attended by delegates from across the shopping centre industry.
This year, our Security Team at Touchwood Shopping Centre and Castle Quay Shopping Centre are being recognised as finalists in the Security Team of the Year category!
We would like to take this opportunity to wish our Partners, who are also through to the finals, the very best of luck in the following categories:
Our people are what make us special. From saving lives and preventing crime to helping people in need and much more. Our Reward and Recognition scheme is our way of saying thank you to our Colleagues for the amazing work that they do each and every day, often going above and beyond in their role.
Well done to all our winners and everyone who has been nominated for an award this quarter – you are all amazing!
Our 2023 Quarter 2 winners are:
Team of the Quarter
WINNER – Haymarket Shopping Centre – Dual Service Team
RUNNER-UP – QVC Chiswick – Cleaning Team
Manager of the Quarter
Amanda Hall – North West
Colleague of the Quarter
Walter Williams – Houndshill Shopping Centre
Newcomer of the Quarter
Vicky Martin – Technical Services, Head Office
CSR of the Quarter
Susan Williams – The Galleries
H&S Champion of the Quarter
Tekbahadur Gurung – Wellington Shopping Centre
Service Excellence of the Quarter
Paul Greatrex – Touchwood Shopping Centre
Paul Britton – The Galleries
Adam Wilkes – Touchwood Shopping Centre
Adrian Alcantara & the Tata Technologies Team
Christine Preece – Telford Centre
Shaf Ur-Rehman – Castle Quay Shopping Centre
Outstanding Act of the Quarter
Matthew Cornah, Jason Mackay & Gareth Griffiths – Grosvenor Shopping Centre
Alan McCabe and Ahmed Karim – St Johns Shopping Centre
John Trott – Quedam Shopping Centre
Majid Khan – Templars Square Shopping Centre
Andy Joy – Quedam Shopping Centre
Congratulations to all our winning colleagues and to everyone who was nominated in Quarter 2.
If you wish to nominate a colleague for a Reward & Recognition award, click here.
To see a list of all our previous winners, click here.
Warrington based, fast growing Facilities Management company, The Westgrove Group has recently secured a new contract at Hairpin House in Birmingham, a build-to-rent development with 237 apartments. Under the agreement, Westgrove will provide mechanical, electrical and life safety maintenance and compliance inspections to ensure the smooth operation of Hairpin House.
As the first of the ila’s (I Live Around) neighbourhoods to complete, Hairpin House aims to elevate the BTR market by creating people-first communities that celebrate from the culture and heritage of its location. Hairpin House pays homage to its historic location, once home to Kirby Beard & Co, renowned for inventing the Kirby Grip hairpin.
“We are thrilled to collaborate with Westgrove Group for the technical services at Hairpin House,” said Catrin Morgan, Operations Director at ila. “Their expertise and professionalism will ensure that our residents enjoy a safe and comfortable living environment, in line with our commitment to exceptional quality.”
Claire McKinley-Smith, Group Managing Director expressed delight in partnering with the ila team and supporting their growth. McKinley-Smith emphasized the company’s commitment to delivering quality service and working in line with ila’s vision of creating stylish and proud communities.
Paul Booth, Technical Services Director, added, “This contract award is fantastic news for Westgrove and showcases the tremendous growth our Technical Services business has achieved over the past three years.”
Westgrove is a facilities management company that provides planned and reactive maintenance, security, cleaning, and customer service to corporate offices, shopping centres, mixed-use destinations, manufacturing, and business parks throughout the UK.
Established in 1998 by Simon Whittle and Steve Fives, the Westgrove Group is proudly celebrating its 25th anniversary this year.
We are extremelly pleased to announce that Jack Davenport from Templars Square Shopping Centre has won the Gaby Hutchinson Award for Best Newcomer at the British Security Industry Association (BSIA), British Security Awards, 2023!
“Within a short time working as a Customer Service Officer, Jack was involved in and resolved multiple issues and situations on site including administering first aid, stopping a male who was threatening staff, prevented multiple thefts and assisted tenants with various tasks.”
Congratulations Jack – you deserve this national recognition and our team thoroughly enjoyed celebrating with you!
