The retail market is a valuable arena for Laing O’Rourke and with big projects like The Rock already under its belt – and Trinity Leeds now under way – the company is in a commanding position to compete with the top retail construction players and increase its market share.
“While growth is slow, there are green shoots appearing,” considers Mark Brazington from international real estate group Hammerson.
The company was appointed to complete the development and letting of The Rock, and assume an asset management role, in January 2010 after the original developer went into administration. Laing O’Rourke was already on board as the main contractor.
“We hadn’t worked with Laing O’Rourke before, so The Rock was an opportunity for us to get to know each other – and it turned out to be a rewarding experience,” says Mark.
Trinity Leeds is set to serve as a further reputation-booster, adds project leader Chris Rafferty. “Given the climate, securing an opportunity of this size is no mean achievement. It says a lot about the relationship we have with the client and our capabilities as a group.”
Ensuring success on such complex builds may not be easy, but Expanded project leader Rob Auld believes that, in the end, it’s about sticking to one very important mantra: “Get it right – and get it right first time.”
That attitude permeates every level of a Laing O’Rourke retail project, from the kick-off planning and strategy meetings, to building relationships with communities and tenants, through to day-to-day project management and working with construction partners.
Sharing experiences among teams
The Rock in Bury is one of the most recent retail developments to be completed by Laing O’Rourke, working with a host of major construction partners.
The shopping destination in Greater Manchester launched on time and to budget in July 2010, despite being a complex project with tight deadlines.
Having inherited the project from another construction company two years before the handover date, Laing O’Rourke needed rock-solid plans – and to hit the ground running – to get the job done.
To manage the task, project leader Tony Bush and his team broke the work down into clusters. Procurement was done sitewide, on a trade-by-trade basis, and delivery was managed by a separate team for each of the five main buildings.
The project team also factored in the realities of the recession. “We had two contractors covering each trade, wherever possible, just in case one went under,” reflects Tony. “Thankfully, no one did, but it certainly helped get things done.”
John Doyle, architect director at international architecture firm BDP, worked closely with the Laing
O’Rourke team. It wasn’t their first retail project together and John believes “knowing people on the other side of the table” was a particular advantage on this challenging build.
“We were able to share experiences from previous projects,” he says. “And I knew Laing O’Rourke’s ability to call on support from within its group and supply chain put the company in a very enviable position when it came to starting The Rock. Its speed of response and initial mobilisation were very impressive.”
Working closely together
Another of the project’s challenges was the tight site, in which the building footprints took up most of the space.
Trinity Leeds project team members Ralph Wynn, John Toland, project leader Chris Rafferty, Andy Ward and Graham Flynn prepare to start work.
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“More than ever, we had to think logistically about managing delivery and access,” says Tony. “We had an offsite office for all contractors, which gave us a bit more room, but we still had to leave part of one of the buildings down until the very end to give everyone better access to the site.”
Expanded’s Rob Auld remembers the cosy conditions well: “We’d be pouring slabs, while elsewhere someone would be putting up walls. Tony [Bush] and his team did a great job of managing the space.
“It was a challenge, but The Rock is now the perfect showcase of everything Expanded does in one project – from traditional concrete frames incorporating slip-form technology and post tensioning with Strongforce, to precast and metal decking with concrete slabs, and every type of finish imaginable.”
“The communication was perfect, says AMF’s general manager Graeme Smith. “Laing
O’Rourke’s construction manager, Ben Cullen, was on site constantly and checked in several times a day to make sure everything was going to plan.
“We needed just four weeks after construction to get things right operationally before the launch. Laing O’Rourke made sure those deadlines were met and that there was a smooth transition, which made it all so much easier for us.”
Communication and a positive attitude
Everyone involved in The Rock highlights communication and attitude as the keys to its success. Tony believes that everyone in one, open-plan office meant “you couldn’t help but talk to each other”, while John from BDP puts it down to the can-do attitude and openness.
“It was infectious and crucial to the project’s success,” recalls John. “If an issue arose, Laing O’Rourke was proactive about talking with their suppliers and finding solutions that were cost-effective, but still delivered a quality result. How fast we moved this project along from a standing start was a real achievement – and we couldn’t have done it without Tony Bush and his team.”
Hammerson’s Mark Brazington concludes: “I joined the project six months before completion, so I had to be able to trust Laing O’Rourke to provide an accurate picture of the story so far, and I very quickly discovered that I could.
“They were very transparent about costs and finances, and it was obvious that the construction guys who had been on the project for two years wanted it to be a success as much as I did. Their pride and passion was evident.”