Property

Beware of the big bad wolf

When inviting tenders for building work, avoid companies new to the sector and big-name corporations that wouldn’t usually pitch independent schools for business. Stay with what you know, advises John Cahill

Childhood is full of fairy tales that contain thinly disguised warnings of life, such as Little Red Riding Hood. But probably the oldest is Virgil’s Aeneid, covering the siege of Troy when Laocön said something along the lines of: “Don’t trust that horse, it comes from the Trojans and when the Greeks bring you a gift, I get really worried!”

Actually Laocön himself ended up in a mess, trying to sort out a modern CAT5 wiring installation (a joke, for those of you who know your classics).

This is a time when we should remember the words of Virgil. The construction industry (and those of you who have read my previous articles will know that I have a healthy cynicism towards it) is divided into various categories:
• cowboys;
• small, local and utterly reliable builders (a collector’s item);
• medium-sized construction companies that manage to eke out an existence (but go into liquidation every now and again);
• major construction companies, some of whom have managed to maintain consistently reasonable progress over the years; and
• big international conglomerates, many of whom are now owned by overseas investors.

When you employ a contractor, it is essential to choose well. When a recession arrives, there are many wolves-in-granny’s- shawl and Trojan horses.

Signs of the times
When times are tight, the major construction companies will find their workload decreasing more rapidly than anybody else, as major commercial developments are either cancelled or put into mothballs. This means that these companies seek alternative work and so may start tendering for opportunities below their usual level. It shouldn’t affect schools because it is unlikely that anybody in the independent sector uses a large international contractor such as Multiplex or Bovis Lendlease.

However, there is a knock-on effect. The marketing departments of the major contractors will work to get themselves onto a tender list for education projects. For a school, it becomes a little like deciding to go to Sainsbury’s in your usual Morris 1000 Traveller or a Bentley. Unfortunately, the Bentley looks rather impressive, so it is difficult to believe that it might not be a good idea.

When this happens, however, every sub-contracted item is hawked around to find the cheapest sub-contractor
possible to do it. This, though, can lead to instances such as when a joinery sub-contractor bought the ironmongery (as the main contractor required him to do), buying cheap hinges that didn’t comply with the British Standard, and it was only as a result of an eagle-eyed architect that this was spotted.

Stay with what you know
So, if you are going to do building work in the next couple of years, stay with the companies that have always worked at your level. Don’t be seduced by new names appearing on the scene that promise an extra-special service and all the additional facilities that come with their bigger organisation because, frankly, you can’t afford them.

And another thing: design and build is not only a silly idea now, in a recession it is commercial suicide. I asked my friend John Durtnell, who is chairman of R Durtnell & Sons, a contractor business of 400 years’ standing, what he thought of design and build. I said to him: “John, a lot of governors of schools tell me they only do design and build because it guarantees them a maximum price and has certainty of delivery”. John’s reply was unprintable.

And if John thinks that about design and build, you should believe him because he knows more about the
construction industry than anyone else. Timeo danaos et dona ferentes*. Put that on your door as your motto, impress the head of classics and find out whether your headmaster has the slightest idea what it means.

*I fear the Greeks, even when they bring gifts.

John Cahill is managing director of Barnsley Hewett and Mallinson. John can be contacted on jc@bhmarchitects.com

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