Wates Group

Wates Group Ltd is one of the largest family owned construction, property services and development companies in the United Kingdom. Wates Giving, the firm's charitable foundation, has donated over £10 million since 2008.

History
Edward Wates established his eponymous business in 1897 as a Streatham housebuilder. In the 1920s and 1930s, it expanded into speculative residential schemes and general contracting; moving to London Road, Mitcham and then Norbury.

Prior to the outbreak of the Second World War, Wates was building about 2,000 dwellings per annum. It took on substantial military contracts and was active throughout the conflict, applying precast concrete construction on various projects; this included barges, air raid shelters, trench linings, and Mulberry harbours. During the postwar era, the firm applied the same techniques to system built housing (both high and low rise units); it ultimately completed in excess of 60,000 such units.

During the late 1990s, the company was extensively restructured, which included the adoption of a new executive structure and the integration of all London-based divisions. In 2000, Sir Christopher Wates stood back from managing the firm, leading to a non-family member running the business. That same year, Wates Group created an interiors division; it aimed to secure a turnover of £100 million within three years. The following 12 months saw a sharp rise in turnover recorded.

In April 2001, Wates Group teamed up with Carillion on a £240 million housing improvement programme. That same year, the company combined its executive housing, strategic land, and joint ventures and development operations into Wates Residential Developments. Throughout the 2000s, the company would expand its activity in the housing sector; its strategy included the introduction of new prefabrication techniques to accelerate construction and raise residential sales.

During 2002, it expanded its services offerings to include cost planning, facilities management and maintenance activities. In summer 2003, the company reported a one-third reduction in accidents along with record pre-tax profits.

In 2004, Paul Drechsler became CEO of Wates Group; under his direction, the traditional public–private structure of the firm was abandoned and the company's management structure was reorganised. During April 2007, its profits tripled to reach £31 million. Two years later, the company recorded takings in excess of £1 billion for the first time.

For over one hundred years, Wates Group never undertook any acquisitions; in early 2008, it was announced that the company intended to make its first acquisitions shortly as part of ambitious growth plans over the following five years. Accordingly, Wates purchased property maintenance businesses Linbrook Services Ltd and the Purchase Group Ltd, in June 2011 and November 2014, for £40.8 and £13.6 million respectively. In 2015, Wates acquired the construction, facility management, and engineering services businesses of Shepherd Building Group in exchange for £9.8 million. Consequently, 1,200 staff transferred to the firm in September 2015.

In early 2013, Paul Drechsler was replaced as CEO by James Wates. During late 2015, the housing division was split in two, separating the new build and maintenance activities.

During May 2020, 300 redundancies, roughly 8 percent of the overall workforce, were announced by Wates; the company attributed the move to the economic consequences of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Two months later, it announced a reorientation towards housing contracts and the public sector. Over the following years, Wates Group would secure work valued in excess of £100 million to retrofit a range of energy efficiency measures to 4,590 social housing properties on behalf of 17 social landlords.

In early 2021, Wates Group announced that it was to adopt flexible working arrangements for all roles by 2025 that would permit different working patterns. During March 2022, the firm announced a leap in pre-tax profits to £37.4 million, the highest ever recorded. That same month, the company secured £90m sustainability-linked loan from a syndicate led by Lloyds Bank.

In early 2024, Wates Group reported strong financial results for 2023, pre-tax profits rose by 37 percent to £46.2m in line with a £2.18 billion turnover, which was the largest ever amount taken by the company.

Projects
Notable past projects include:
 * RAF Keevil, 1941
 * Housing for Dulwich Estate, 1972
 * Doncaster Civic Hall, 2012 (CIOB Project of the Year)
 * Victoria and Albert Museum extension, 2017

Carbon monoxide
In 2017, Wates Group was fined £640,000 plus £21,000 costs following a breach of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The firm and its subcontractor had inadequately planned replacement of boiler cowls on a 13 storey block of flats. The mistake resulted in a live flue being blocked and carbon monoxide entering dwellings.

Glass fatality
A banksman was fatally crushed at Wates' 20 Eastbourne Mews site during June 2015 when a glass walling unit fell on him. Westminster Coroner's Court was critical of deficiencies in the lifting plans and method statements in use.

Site delays
In 2013, an Adjudicator determined Wates should pay a brickwork subcontractor compensation for delays at a site in Tower Hamlets. Wates did not accept the decision but High Court Judge Edwards-Stuart ordered it to pay £283,467 plus interest. Judgement confirmed the Adjudicator acted within their jurisdiction and there had been no remaining dispute between the parties on the sum due.

Fatal fall
In September 2004, Wates Construction entered a guilty plea to a charge of breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and was fined £150,000 plus £14,769 costs. A subcontractor fell through a skylight at the Royal Artillery Museum, landing 11 metres below, on a concrete floor. The victim died of his injuries four days later. Before the June 2000 incident, Wates had agreed with subcontractors that more protection was required around the skylight but did not suspend construction.

Salisbury roof
In 1997, Wates built a retail warehouse in Salisbury for Waitrose under a design–build contract. The defective roof collapsed in 2002; claims were made against Wates, and they in turn issued proceedings against their subcontract designer. It emerged Wates had deviated from the original drawings and allegations against inadequate design, were in fact allegations concerned with workmanship. Wates agreed to pay costs to the designer, but only on a standard basis, not the potentially more expensive indemnity basis. Judge Coulson found Wates should have realised their action against the designer had no merit and abandoned it sooner. Wates was ordered to pay costs on an indemnity basis for that latter part of the case.

Domain name disputes
In October 2015, Wate recovered registration of domain name wates-construction.co.uk from Nominet. It had been abusively registered by a third party. In December 2018, Wates recovered registration of domain name watesconstruction.co.uk from Nominet. It had also been abusively registered by a third party.

Political donations
Wates has been a major donor to the UK Conservative Party. Between 2007 and 2017, Wates Group Services Ltd gave £430,000 to the party, including a £50,000 donation in February 2017.

Awards

 * Construction News Contractor of the Year Award 2017.
 * Building Major Contractor of the Year Award 2009, 2010 and 2016.

Subsidiaries
Wates Group Ltd own a number of subsidiaries, including: