The Wates Group is set to expand its facilities management offering with the launch of Wates Facilities Management (‘Wates FM’) – a new business with expanded nationwide capabilities.
Formerly operating as Wates Smartspace FM, Wates FM will build on its existing nationwide portfolio of total facilities management services across a range of environments, including banking, retail and healthcare, and will seek opportunities to provide facilities management support to both private and public sector customers.
Wates FM will become part of Wates’ Property Services division alongside the Group’s Living Space business, which provides planned and responsive repairs for over 500,000 social housing properties. This restructure will allow the two businesses to combine their expertise, improving the service offered to our customers.
David Morgan, Managing Director of Wates Living Space, commented: “Wates’ continued success is built on the breadth of our in-house capabilities and our agility in identifying and maximising complementary areas of our business. There is a great deal of synergy between Wates Living Space and Wates FM and aligning the two businesses will enable us to significantly enhance our service to clients.
“Operational efficiency is essential when working with the public sector and this is something that underpins Wates Living Space’s position as a leading UK provider of housing repairs and maintenance. Wates FM will be able to benefit from this emphasis to expand our FM services into the public sector, building on the expert front-line services that our two businesses provide.”
James Gregg, Managing Director of Wates FM, added: “The launch of Wates FM is a positive step that will support the adaption of our FM services to the needs of an evolving market. Our success to date has been founded on our determination to understand and respond to our customers’ individual needs, something that has made us a trusted facilities management partner.
“I very much look forward to the next steps in this journey and to working alongside our colleagues in Wates Living Space. Our financial stability, our shared expertise and commitment to impeccable standards of service delivery, and our continuous drive to innovate will cement Wates FM’s position as a leading provider of facilities management services to both public and private sector customers.”
Wates FM currently manages over 350 commercial properties, delivering services including statutory compliance, cleaning, security, catering, porterage, front-of-house, help desks and computer-aided facilities management (CAFM), as well as mechanical and electrical and building fabric maintenance through a mix of site based and mobile teams.
