United Infrastructure (Social Infrastructure) - Building Better Communities BF151

UNITED INFRASTRUCTURE (SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE)

BUILDING BETTER COMMUNITIES

UNITED INFRASTRUCTURE (SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE)

LONG-TERM PARTNERSHIPS HELP UNITED INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVE HOMES, STRENGTHEN COMMUNITIES AND CREATE LASTING SOCIAL VALUE.

BUILDING BETTER COMMUNITIES PROJECT MANAGED BY: LISA POBEREZHNIUK

Good housing does far more than provide a roof over someone’s head. It shapes health, wellbeing, opportunity and pride in the places people call home. For United Infrastructure’s Social Infrastructure division, every project begins with that understanding.

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orking alongside housing associations, local authorities, and public sector organisations across the UK, Social Infrastructure helps maintain, improve and futureproof homes and community assets. It is a role that extends well beyond construction, combining technical expertise with a longterm commitment to the people living in those neighbourhoods.

Social Infrastructure sits alongside United Infrastructure’s utilities business.

Leading Social Infrastructure is division CEO Claire Kershaw, whose team has built lasting partnerships with many of the country’s largest housing providers.

“Social Infrastructure exists to improve places and public services,” begins Claire. “We work with housing providers, local authorities, and public sector providers to maintain,

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improve and futureproof homes and community assets.”

STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS

Strong relationships have long been critical to Social Infrastructure’s success. As part of United Infrastructure, the division works with every member of the G15 group of London’s largest housing associations, delivering strategic partnerships that typically last between 10–15 years.

This is complemented by an extensive portfolio of housing stock and a strong operational footprint across the North and Midlands.

This longevity creates opportunities that reach beyond individual refurbishment programmes.

Instead of responding to isolated

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UNITED INFRASTRUCTURE (SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE)

Claire Kershaw, Division CEO, United Infrastructure (Social Infrastructure).

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HONEST | RELIABLE | RESPECTFUL

Compliant workforce solutions for complex projects.

Daniel Owen Ltd® is a specialist recruitment agency serving the construction, maintenance, rail & engineering industries since 1986.

Contact us for a recruitment partner who can deliver compliant, reliable talent at scale.

0345 810 1020 | email@danielowen.co.uk | www.danielowen.co.uk

Are you operating in the built environment?

Our mission is to empower our customers to source and secure new revenue opportunities, manage risk and compliance effectively, and enhance efficiency and sustainability throughout the supply chain.

See how customers like Social Infrastructure: Save time and maintain supply chain compliance Outsource supplier verification and onboarding to us Monitor supplier financial risk Expand your supply chain coverage Get better pricing for tenders Access 30,000+ pre-qualified suppliers

What this means for the supply chain: Streamline your compliance in one easy-to-use platform Find and win new work with our marketplace Save time and money with a standardised prequalification process Reduce duplication and costs with SSIP certification Align to industry standards and showcase your credentials

Discover what Once For All can do for your organisation Scan to book a demo today.

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If you’re a supplier or subcontractor and want to demonstrate your compliance. Scan here to talk to us

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DANIEL OWEN

UNITED INFRASTRUCTURE

Daniel Owen Ltd provides scalable workforce solutions for the built environment, supplying everything from niche technical specialists to complete site teams for major developments.

Delivering talent at this scale introduces significant supply chain risk, which is why strict compliance dictates our entire operation. Long before industry standards required it, we became one of the first UK recruitment agencies to become an Agency Member of SafeRec. By mandating rigorous umbrella company auditing, we guarantee ethical, transparent payroll practices across our temporary workforce.

This commitment to doing things right stems directly from our structure as an employee-owned business. Our clients work alongside invested stakeholders who take personal accountability for service delivery. Behind the scenes, a fully staffed back office ensures complex enquiries are handled rapidly without ever compromising on those strict compliance standards.

That same accountability extends to how we impact the wider community.

We actively support our clients’ CSR targets by partnering on social value initiatives, helping contractors meet public-sector obligations through local hiring and community investment.

Operating since 1986 on the core values of being Honest, Reliable, and Respectful, we absorb the complexities that comes with complex staffing.

Ensuring your workforce is safe, compliant, and ready to deliver. Every time.

maintenance requirements, Social Infrastructure helps clients develop long-term investment strategies that balance regulatory obligations, financial pressures and resident outcomes.

“We’re not interested in simply winning contracts,” Claire explains. “We want to become a trusted partner to those we work with.”

It is a philosophy has helped Social Infrastructure achieve an exceptional level of client retention. Around 98 percent of contracts that reach retender are successfully retained, demonstrating the strength of relationships built over many years.

www.danielowen.co.uk

ONCE FOR ALL

ONE PLATFORM. TOTAL SUPPLY CHAIN CONFIDENCE. Managing a complex construction supply chain across multiple projects, locations, and subcontractors is no small task. For Social Infrastructure, the reality was familiar to many in the sector: disconnected tools, scattered spreadsheets, and fragmented communication eating into time that should be spent delivering projects.

The solution was Once For All. By consolidating supply chain management into a single integrated platform, Social Infrastructure gained instant access to a network of 30,000+ prequalified subcontractors, eliminating the time and risk associated with sourcing and vetting suppliers from scratch.

Compliance management became straightforward. With the ability to segment their supply chain by project, location, and compliance level, the team replaced reactive firefighting with proactive oversight. Supplier onboarding and verification, previously a manual burden, is now handled efficiently within one system, freeing resource for higher-value work.

Tender enquiries improved too. Once For All’s Tender Management solution streamlined the enquiry process, enabling Social Infrastructure to publish work packages directly to a vetted supply chain network and drive stronger, more competitive outcomes.

Critically, financial risk no longer catches them off guard. The Risk Radar tool provides early warning of supplier financial vulnerability, including contagion risk, so decisions are informed - not reactive.

As Carl Blanks, Head of Supply Chain at Social Infrastructure, puts it: “By combining efficient tender management with a dynamic marketplace approach, we’re saving critical time across projects while strengthening supply chain confidence - with better-informed decisions and proactive risk management at every stage.”

One platform. Stronger compliance, smarter risk management, and a supply chain built for delivery. www.onceforall.com

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TECHNICAL CAPABILITIES

Supporting clients means bringing together a wide range of technical capabilities under one roof. The business works with customers from the earliest project concepts through design, compliance and delivery, helping them tackle multiple priorities at once.

Building safety remains one of the sector’s biggest challenges following significant regulatory change.

Decarbonisation programmes continue to

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UNITED INFRASTRUCTURE

reshape investment decisions, while housing providers are also addressing damp and mould, improving energy efficiency and extending the lifespan of ageing housing stock.

Rather than treating those issues separately, Social Infrastructure looks for opportunities to solve several problems through a single programme of work.

“If they are doing something that’s on building safety, is there an opportunity, for example, to decarbonise their stock at the same time?” Claire asks. “What should they be considering to futureproof their stock while they’re doing those projects?”

Providing that breadth of expertise allows clients to simplify complex programmes while making limited budgets stretch further.

FOCUS ON COMMUNITIES

Equally important is the company’s focus on communities themselves.

“Ultimately, we’re not just maintaining buildings,” Claire remarks. “We’re looking after the communities that live in them.”

That commitment runs throughout every contract.

Alongside physical improvements, United Infrastructure actively creates apprenticeships, employment opportunities, school engagement programmes and local supply chain development.

The business measures those outcomes through its social value platform, tracking everything from new jobs and apprenticeships to community engagement and support for people furthest from employment. Quantifiable results matter, but individual stories remain equally important.

“We look at the actual stories, the narrative around how our interventions change lives because I think that’s really important,” Claire states. “You actually understand what it means to people individually in terms of having these opportunities that they wouldn’t have otherwise.”

Few projects illustrate that approach better than the company’s long-standing partnership with Wolverhampton Homes.

After 15 years of collaboration, the relationship has evolved far beyond traditional refurbishment work.

Early programmes focused on kitchens, bathrooms and windows before expanding into wider estate regeneration.

One standout project transformed the Heathtown estate, an area previously associated with high levels of antisocial behaviour, crime and resident isolation.

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POWERDAY

For almost 50 years, Powerday has been delivering trusted waste management, recycling and resource recovery solutions for businesses across London and throughout the UK. As a family-owned company with a national reach, we combine local expertise with industryleading infrastructure to provide a seamless, fully compliant service for construction, demolition, commercial, industrial and public sector clients.

Our National division is supported by a trusted nationwide supply chain and designed to support multi-site and large-scale operations with tailored waste strategies that drive efficiency, maximise recycling rates and support clients achieve their sustainability targets. From total waste management and skip hire to hazardous waste handling, materials recycling, aggregates, and waste-to-energy solutions, Powerday delivers a fully integrated end-to-end service. Every customer is supported by dedicated account management, transparent reporting and the operational expertise needed to perform at scale.

Operating from 9 strategically located facilities across London, we are directly licenced to process over 3.5 million tonnes of waste annually while delivering 100% diversion from landfill for all non-hazardous waste. Our state-of-the-art Materials Recycling Facilities, combined with a modern Euro 6 and ULEZ-compliant fleet, enable us to provide reliable, environmentally responsible solutions at scale.

At Powerday, sustainability is not just part of the conversation. It drives everything we do. We continually invest in innovation, cleaner technology and community initiatives to create long-term value for our clients and the communities we serve.

Powerday. Waste managed smarter. Resources recovered responsibly.

Nationwide solutions delivered with family values at the core. www.powerday.co.uk

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At WD Group, we design, survey, supply, manufacture and install high-quality Aluminium and PVC window and door systems, providing durable and efficient solutions for a wide range of projects, including high-rise buildings across all sectors.

Our commitment to outstanding service, precision engineering, and seamless project delivery ensures that every installation meets the highest industry standards.

Specialists in Aluminium & PVC Windows, Doors, and Curtain Walling Systems.

Unit S&T, Riverside Ind Est, Atherstone Street, Tamworth Staffordshire, B78 3RW

info@windowanddoor.co.uk +44 (0)1827 281 139 www.windowanddoor.co.uk

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BUILDING THE FUTURE

The Wolverhampton partnership supports a charity called Building the Future, introducing young people to careers they may never have previously considered.

Working with local schools, the programme brings pupils into a university environment where they complete regeneration projects, develop presentation skills and gain first-hand experience of the construction industry.

Watching students confidently present their ideas to parents, teachers and industry professionals has become one of the highlights of the initiative.

“You can genuinely see that you are changing people’s lives, and they are genuinely thinking

Working closely with Wolverhampton Homes and the local council, Social Infrastructure helped redesign public spaces, improve housing, install a district heating system and construct a new energy centre.

The physical improvements delivered significant environmental benefits, but the wider impact reached much further.

Residents developed greater pride in their community. Open spaces became places where children could play safely. Crime and antisocial behaviour dropped, while stronger neighbourhood connections emerged.

Local businesses also benefited through supply chain opportunities, while apprenticeships and new skills created lasting employment prospects within the community.

Claire considers the project one of the company’s proudest achievements because it demonstrates how investment in housing can transform lives as well as buildings.

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UNITED INFRASTRUCTURE

about how they might take up a career in construction in the future,” Claire points out.

Creating opportunities also starts within United Infrastructure itself.

Rather than relying heavily on external recruitment agencies, the company has built its own internal talent team, focusing as much on values and attitude as technical experience.

Candidates are increasingly recruited from outside construction, bringing transferable skills from sectors including care, while new academies are being developed for resident liaison officers, site managers and contract managers.

The emphasis is on finding people who genuinely care about customers and communities.

“It’s not just about experience,” Claire says. “Are these applicants excited? Are they enthused and motivated by caring for the end user, the customer? Are they proud and do they take pride in the work that they’re delivering?”

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CLEAR SENSE OF PURPOSE

A clear sense of purpose helps retain that talent as the organisation continues to expand.

Instead of defining success purely through financial performance, United Infrastructure encourages employees to understand the wider impact of their work.

“It’s creating a strategy, a North Star that people really buy into,” Claire declares.

Growth remains firmly on the agenda.

Historically concentrated around London and the South East, the business has significantly expanded

across the West Midlands and North West during the past 18 months, supported by almost £1 billion of secured order book through long-term strategic partnerships.

Attention is now turning towards the East of England, where the company is strengthening its supply chain and pursuing new opportunities.

“We want to become a partner of choice for all of our housing associations, organisations, and the wider public sector,” Claire concludes, “as well as being known for maintaining and improving social infrastructure.”

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UNITED INFRASTRUCTURE (SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE)

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