Energised - Issue 4 - May 2023

ENERGISED

CHARITY GOLF DAY

TEAM TOGETHER DAY

PROJECT NEWS

LCR CULTURE & CREATIVITY AWARDS

ISO AUDIT

WREXHAM AFC SPONSORSHIP

A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

Hello and welcome to Issue 4 of Energised. We hope that you enjoy us keeping you informed on the latest happenings here at Davies Partnership.

We’ve had another very busy six months since our last issue so make sure you spare the time to have a read.

both Wrexham AFC and the LCR Culture & Creativity Awards, along with what projects have been keeping us busy lately.

As always, if you have any comments, we would be glad to hear them so make sure to get in touch with a member of the team.

Charity Golf Day 2023

Team Together Day

LCR Culture & Creativity Awards

Tony crowned ‘Business Personality of the Year’

Project News

Wrexham AFC Sponsorship

ISO Audit

#ENERGISINGENVIRONMENTS

The highlight of this issue is our Charity Golf Day which we hosted in aid of Pancreatic Cancer UK. Thanks to all the support, we managed to raise an incredible £11,780 for the charity.

You will also read about our first team together day of the year, our continued sponsorship of

Ryan Jones Marketing & Commercial Senior Executive

Bric-by-Bric Training Scheme

CIH 2023

Grwp

Five

CHARITY GOLF DAY 2023

£11,780 RAISED FOR PANCREATIC CANCER UK!

SUN, GOLF & CHARITY FUNDRAISING

On Friday 19th May, we hosted our first ever Charity Golf Day to raise funds for Pancreatic Cancer UK.

Thanks to a lot of hard work behind the scenes led by our Commercial Director Kevin Fields, the event proved to be a huge success as we welcomed 19 teams to Bromborough Golf Course for a fantastic and sunfilled day of golf.

Following the five-hour long game that featured many memorable moments, we also hosted an evening function.

The evening function included live music from local band Acoustic Odds, a prize raffle, and drinks till late.

With the incredible support from all our guests, sponsors, and everyone else who helped to make the event so special, we are delighted to have raised a total of £11,780 for the charity.

The big winners on the day were Worldwide Hospitality Group who finished in 1st place and each took home 4 Golf Standbags.

THANK YOU FOR THE SUPPORT!

The day and night would not have been possible without all the support from friends, family and of course our colleagues within the industry.

We are very grateful to have raised such an amazing amount that will help Pancreatic Cancer UK

continue to support people now, campaign for change, and invest in vital research to transform the future.

The charity was chosen by Kevin for a cause close to his heart following a family bereavement last year and we are so proud the event proved to be a huge success.

The Charity Golf Day follows our Dublin to Galway Charity Bike Ride from last year and we are already looking forward to planning our next event for charity.

Vita and Accountable Recruitment finished 2nd and 3rd respectively with just two points separating the three teams!

Billy Salmon of Focused Construction won the Longest Drive on the 18th Hole by hitting a 285 yard effort and taking home a Taylor Made Stealth 2 Driver.

Tom Hodgson of Athertons won the Putting Challenge after an intense 3-way play off in front of the patrons, taking home a Taylor Made Spider X Putter.

TEAM TOGETHER DAY

We held our first team together day of the year on Friday 24th March where we all met up at Mavericks – a communityowned motorcycle repair shop in Holywell, North Wales.

It was great to hear from the founders, Rich and Ian who told us the inspiring story of how Mavericks was founded, the challenges it faced during Covid and about its continuing success hosting a range of events including classic car auctions, weekly motorcycle meetings and corporate events.

They have turned the venue into a unique community-based destination and are supporting disadvantaged people from the local area with training and employment and are giving hope to many people who otherwise may have little.

The sense of community spirit is apparent, with many volunteers helping to keep the place running.

We received an exceptionally warm welcome from the Mavericks team who couldn’t

have done more to make our experience a great one. We would highly recommend the venue to any of our industry friends who are looking for a unique event space.

You can visit their website by clicking HERE

STEWARDS ENQUIRY DEMANDED!

The day started with our Managing Director Tony McDonnell providing a comprehensive review of the fantastic year we have just had, giving a full insight into our business plan for the coming year and also revealing a host of new benefits that our team are entitled to.

Following lunch, we headed off for some fun at North Wales Shooting School and a spot of clay pigeon shooting.

Sam Evans proved to be the sharpshooter of the day and an intense second place shootoff between Richard Lewis and Kevin Fields was needed to decide the runner up.

Kevin came out on top in what was a controversial ending to the day after a steward’s enquiry was demanded following a debate about the legality of Kevin’s gun!

LCR CULTURE & CREATIVITY AWARDS 2023

We were delighted to continue our support of the Liverpool City Region Culture & Creativity Awards this year by sponsoring the Environmental Award for the third year in a row.

This year’s awards took place on Thursday 9th March at the Shakespeare North Playhouse and was hosted by actress and presenter Sunetra Sarker.

It’s been a real pleasure for us to be involved with the awards over the last three years through sponsorship of the Environmental Award – an award that resonates well with the values of our own business.

This award celebrates the impact culture and creativity has on the green agenda, including environmental sustainability and contribution to net zero targets.

On the evening, our Managing Director Tony McDonnell revealed the very worthy winners to be DefProc Engineering. We’d like to congratulate the amazing nominees Abyan Faruk and United by Land, along with the winners and nominees of the other awards categories.

It was also great to see previous Environmental Award winner Sonia Bassey MBE recognised for her inspirational work across the Liverpool City Region by winning the Inspiration AwardLifetime Achievement.

With a few highlights from this years’ awards including meeting the ‘Scouse Ghetto Gourmet’ and getting photobombed by Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram, we’re very much looking forward to continuing our support of such an important event over the coming years.

“It was a fantastic evening and I’m in awe of some of the winners. The breadth of their work and what they have achieved – some at such a young age – is admirable.”

Sunetra Sarker

BUSINESS PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR 2022

We had a fantastic evening at the 20th iteration of the Livercool Awards where our Managing Director Tony McDonnell picked up the Business Personality of the Year Award.

The sold-out event took place on Thursday 24th November 2022 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Liverpool City Centre.

As always, the event was perfectly organised by Frank Mckenna and the rest of the Downtown in Business team.

A special thanks to Jayne Moore for sponsoring and presenting the award.

We’d like to congratulate all of the winners but also the amazing nominees. It is always great to celebrate the individuals who make a significant contribution to enterprise and economic growth in the city region.

On the evening we had the pleasure of sharing a table with our friends at Accountable Recruitment.

Frank McKenna commented: “It was amazing to see the incredible passion and talent on display in the room, showing that whatever challenges the city may be facing at the moment, the business community in the city is as determined and innovative as ever.

A massive congratulations to all the deserved winners for their hard work and dedication over not just the last 12 months, but the challenging last few years too.”

PROJECT NEWS

Fantastic news for one of our education schemes in Wales which has successfully received unanimous planning permission.

The project involves the construction of a new purpose built 3-11 Welsh Medium County Primary School for 240 full time primary school pupils and 30 part time nursery pupils.

Located in Flintshire, the project will be built to achieve

Operational Net Zero with our team providing the full MEP Design Duties complete with Sustainability Services.

A thorough consultation involving all relevant stakeholders was held in November which provided comprehensive insight into the highly sustainable plans.

Make sure to keep an eye out on our social media channels for all of the latest project updates.

MAJOR REFURBISHMENT AT TIR Y CAPEL COMPLETED

We’re thrilled to share the news that new and returning tenants have been welcomed into Tir y Capel following the successful completion of the refurbishment works over a 17 month period.

The project, located in Llay, Wrexham, is a sheltered housing scheme that provides

independent living for people over the age of 60. There are a total of 17 apartments complete with a communal lounge and outdoor garden.

We were delighted to provide the full MEP Design Duties for the scheme which was designed with a real emphasis on the sustainable elements.

Each apartment is heated via air source heat pumps whilst photovoltaic panels were installed and connected to the communal areas to help reduce the service charge costs.

Electric vehicle charging points were also included.

SUNFLOWER HOUSE OPENS!

In early May, Sunflower House at Alder Hey Childrens Hospital officially opened its doors to welcome in children and young people suffering from mental health issues.

Sunflower House is a new Tier 4 Mental Health Inpatient facility that has been specially designed to care for children and young people aged between 5 and 13 years old.

We were delighted to act as Client’s Agent/M&E Co-ordinator for the scheme where we reviewed the M&E designs and monitored the installation and commissioning.

The facility features a therapy garden, a calming sensory room, an immersive room, a destimulation room, a safe kitchen environment, group therapy rooms and classrooms.

MSCP, ROOFTOP FOOTBALL PITCH & A HELIPAD...

We’ve been busy working on a few projects for FI Real Estate Management over the last few months.

One of the larger projects comprises a mixed-use development located on the site of Botany Bay Mill in Chorley. This includes a refurbishment of the Botany Bay Mill self-storage,

THE VAULTS BACK ON TRACK

It’s been great to see work continuing on The Vaults after almost a year of the project being stalled.

Located on St James Street in Liverpool’s Baltic Triangle, the scheme comprises a 64-unit apartment complex that will offer affordable homes available for Rent to Buy.

The remaining works are estimated to be complete by Spring 2024 and we will be resuming our work carrying out the full MEP Design Duties whilst providing Construction Stage support.

an extension to the FIREM HQ Offices, and even a multistorey car park, rooftop football pitch and helipad.

We’re also working on the Botany Bay Hill Employment Park which is a development of starter units for small end of medium sized employment units covering 320,050 sqft.

COMPTON MILL, LEEK

We’re delighted to have been appointed on an over 65’s development in Leek, Staffordshire.

Compton Mill is a 57-unit apartment scheme for people aged 65 years and over, and will comprise a mix of 44-one-bedroom apartments and 13 twobedroom apartments.

Unlike for the blues of the office, it has been a season to remember for our loyal Wrexham supporters who finally saw The Red Dragons promoted to the Football League after a 15-year wait.

The fairy-tale ending to the season couldn’t have gone any better when Wrexham were crowned National League champions in April following a neck and neck title-race with Notts County.

We have been thrilled to show our continued support of one of our local teams over the years through matchday sponsorship on several occasions.

Most recently, we were delighted to sponsor the Player of the Match Award on Saturday 25th March which was won by Ryan Barnett helping Wrexham to a 3-0 win against York City.

A hugely important match that kept them top of the league and ensured the title remained in touching distance before the final few games of the season.

It was a pleasure to host a few of our valued clients for the day and we are looking forward to continuing our support of The Red Dragons with a number of proud season ticket holders in the Davies Partnership team.

SUCCESSFUL ISO AUDIT 2023

We are pleased to share news that we recently passed our annual external ISO Surveillance Audit.

We have successfully retained our ISO 9001, 14001 and 45001 certifications with no major corrective actions for another consecutive year.

Our ISO certifications ensure we have a managed approach to implementing Quality, Environmental and Health & Safety standards within our business, and anyone who has

worked with us will know just how much pride we take in these three areas.

We have a class-leading and unique approach to quality and see this as one of our most significant differentiators. We were praised by the assessor in relation to our innovative quality systems and processes.

Environmental initiatives are one of the main ways in which we add value as a socially responsible employer.

Our road map to achieve Net Zero Operational Carbon by 2035 is also underway, including targeting and monitoring of our carbon emissions, all aligned with PAS 2060 best practice.

We are also pleased to report another year of zero reportable health and safety incidents.

BRIC-BY-BRIC TRAINING SCHEME CIH

We had the pleasure of working with the team at Saffer Cooper recently to deliver an expert presentation as part of the Bric-by-Bric training programme.

This is a comprehensive training programme tailored to junior staff within North West based Registered Housing Providers working in Development Teams.

The purpose of the programme is to try and accelerate their learning and knowledge to enable them to become more competent Development Officers.

Our Managing Director Tony McDonnell and Technical & Quality Director Richard Lewis covered everything relating to

the role of an M&E Consultant including how the role has changed over time, the benefits of careful M&E Design, and the changing face of M&E in order to help achieve environmental improvement in our homes.

We received some great engagement throughout the 2.5 hour session with many of the students asking thoughtprovoking questions and participating in very interesting discussions.

2023

We’re attending the Chartered Institute of Housing’s annual conference again this year and are looking forward to catching up with many of our clients and contacts old and new.

Tony and Kevin will be in Manchester on Tuesday 27th and Wednesday 28th June so make sure to get in touch if you would like to schedule a catch up.

We’re hosting an exclusive event on the Wednesday at Alberts Schloss with our friends from Alan Johnston Partnership and Paddock Johnson, and are sure it will be a great evening as usual.

#ENERGISINGENVIRONMENTS

GRWP CYNEFIN FRAMEWORK

We’re pleased to have secured a position on the Grŵp Cynefin Development Consultants Framework following a recent invitation to tender.

The framework will operate over a 4-year duration with Grŵp Cynefin estimating expenditure across the multiple lots to be circa £8M. A further £2M is anticipated

under awards made by other Contracting Authorities.

Having already worked on several schemes for the housing provider over the years, we are very much looking forward to developing and strengthening this working relationship and delivering much needed affordable homes across North Wales.

Grŵp Cynefin are a charitable housing association operating across North Wales.

They have provided more than 4,600 homes including social rental, intermediate rental, Home Buy and Shared Equity ownership as well as specialist accommodation for people with supported needs.

FIVE MINUTES WITH LEE DAVIES

Lee joined the Davies Partnership team in 2021 after graduating from University with an Integrated Masters Degree in Mechanical Engineering. As a member of the Sustainability team, Lee plays an important role in helping our Clients on the road to a Net Zero Carbon future.

Q. How would you describe your job role?

A. My job role involves analysing buildings from an energy perspective and determining what specific building services to employ with the goal of minimising energy usage and carbon emissions.

This contributes to the progression of achieving Net Zero in the future. I also carry out on-site surveys which assists with how to maximise the performance of building services.

Q. How did you get into the industry?

A. After completing University, I wanted a career involving engineering with energy, so I sent my CV to Davies Partnership.

During the interview I was made aware of the Sustainability Department which got my interest, and I secured my current role as a Sustainability Consultant.

Q. What advice would you give to your younger self?

A. Get as much experience and advice as you can whilst possible.

Do not just focus on specific aspects of your job role - try to engage and communicate with people of other disciplines on projects to gain further knowledge and perspective.

Q. What has been your favourite project to work on and why?

A. My favourite project to work on was a new build project which involved analysing different building services scenarios in an apartment block.

I enjoyed coming up with a methodological way of determining the best strategy to optimise the minimisation of the energy usage and carbon emissions on the project.

Q. What do you enjoy most about working for Davies Partnership?

A. I feel like the work culture is extremely positive and motivating.

Everyone is approachable and are willing to assist you with any aspect of your working day which is a great benefit to my career progression.

Q. If you weren’t an engineer, what would you be?

A. I think I would have chosen to go down the path of a computer programmer.

I have enjoyed developing programs on a small scale for engineering calculations, so I think that would have been my second career choice after engineering.

Q. What are your interests/ hobbies outside of work?

A. I enjoy keeping fit by running and doing bodyweight exercises.

I also like to play a round of golf whenever I get the chance along with watching the football, especially now that Wrexham are back in the Football League!

DIB IS TWENTY A WORD FROM TONY

As Downtown in Business celebrates its twentieth year in business in 2023, our Managing Director Tony McDonnell shared his thoughts on “the business club with influence”.

We share similar values to DIB, in particular around reciprocating opportunities, and with like-minded members being an integral part of the organisation, it is a win-win situation for all who are involved.

The array of events that Downtown host is fantastic. From awards dinners to national conferences, networking events to exclusive roundtable discussions, there is definitely something for everyone.

DIB has given our business some amazing highlights over the past few years.

and a much-deserved Unsung Hero Award at the Women in Business Awards for our FD Gemma Davies.

Frank and the team have been a great ally to us over the years and we look forward to continuing our valued relationship with the organisation for years to come.

As a business that operates nationally, the support that DIB offer in connecting with other City Regions is second to none.

These include winning Business of the Year, Family Run Business of the Year, and Business Personality of the Year at the COLBA and Livercool awards,

Though we’ve only been DIB members for a few years, we greatly admire the work that Downtown has done over the past two decades.

NEW STARTERS & PROMOTIONS

After another busy few months, we have been pleased to welcome several new starters to our ever-growing team.

We strengthened our mechanical department at the start of the year with Peter Hughes joining as a Graduate Mechanical Engineer in January whilst Andrew Forrest joined as a Principal Mechanical Engineer in February.

In April, we welcomed Nathan Ainsworth who joined the team as Electrical Engineer, and we are proud to be launching the ‘Davies Partnership Scholarship Programme’ this year that will see Cian Roberts based in our Chester and Conwy offices whilst being sponsored through his 5-year degree studies.

This new bespoke programme will allow us to nurture local talent into future professionals of the business and we are very much looking forward to keeping you updated on the latest developments.

We are also delighted to have bolstered our tradition of promoting from within as Kevin Fields was recently promoted to Commercial Director following a unanimous decision by our board of directors.

Commenting on his promotion, Kevin said:

“I am absolutely honoured and thrilled to join the Board of Directors at Davies Partnership I must give special thanks to Tony, Peter, Richard & Gemma for all their help and guidance over the years and for this fantastic opportunity.

It is a hugely exciting time for the business and I am looking forward to contributing alongside the team and taking the business to the next level.

I am especially proud to be part of a business that recognises the importance of the team and ensuring all people in the business feel valued.”

Kevin joined the Davies Partnership team in 2015 quickly progressing as a Mechanical Engineer before being promoted to Commercial Manager in September 2020.

Since I joined the business over 8 years ago, I have always felt at home and that is testament to the culture and values instilled by Phil Davies that still very much resonate today.

When the opportunity presented itself to join the Board, it really was a very easy decision for me to make.

We had a fantastic evening which involved some great entertainment with our very own Sustainability Consultant Lee Davies managing to win a night’s stay at the Titanic Hotel and also placing 2nd in the thrilling game of Heads and Tails.

A few weeks earlier we were at Anfield for the annual CIBSE Merseyside and North Wales Luncheon.

RECENT EVENTS

We’ve been busy attending a range of events over the last few weeks and it has been great to catch up with so many of our clients and industry friends.

In April, we attended Sutcliffe’s Charity Spring Ball at the Titanic Hotel and were delighted to hear the event managed to raise over £50,000 for the Liverpool University Hospitals Charity SWAN Model.

It was a pleasure to hear from Chair Paul Guyers as usual along with this year’s guest speaker Bob “The Cat” Bevan MBE who provided the after-dinner laughter.

CAREERS AT DAVIES PARTNERSHIP

Our team are essential to achieving our business purpose: to energise environments and positively shape the world around us.

We invest in our people and empower them through collaboration and strong leadership. This is how we build stronger internal and external relationships by

unlocking the energy and ideas within our dynamic team to deliver unique and tangible value for our customers and stakeholders.

We are always on the lookout for experienced and also aspiring new talent so if you would like more information about opportunities to join Davies Partnership, please get in touch

Our benefits package has been tailored to meet the needs of our team and includes a wide range of fantastic benefits including our work-life balance charter, an agile working model, private healthcare, monthly mindfulness sessions, and early-finish Fridays!