Questions, answered

No. Most clients start with one — usually whichever is causing them the most grief — and add the others as contracts fall due. The advantage of bundling is a single schedule, one invoice and one number to call, not a discount we dangle to lock you in.

A contracts manager walks every building with you, looks at plant, fabric, access and current standards, and writes it up. You get the written condition report whether or not you appoint us, including anything we think is a safety or compliance risk.

Usually four to six weeks from signing for a single site, six to eight for a multi-site estate. Where there is a genuine emergency — an incumbent walking away mid-contract — we have mobilised faster, and we will tell you straight whether we can resource it properly.

Yorkshire, the North West and the northern Midlands, from offices in Sheffield, Leeds and Manchester. We work where we can hold the response times we have committed to rather than claiming national coverage we would have to subcontract.

Yes — engineers, cleaners and security officers are on our payroll. It is why the same people turn up each week, and why training, vetting and conduct are ours to answer for. A small number of specialist disciplines that need manufacturer accreditation are subcontracted, and managed by us.

Every job raised and closed, SLA performance, statutory certificates filed against each asset, cleaning audit scores with photographs, and spend against budget. It is there so you can check rather than ask.

Ninety days to a fully steady state, but you are live and covered well before that — usually within four to six weeks of signing for a single site, and six to eight for a multi-site estate. The bulk of the first ninety days is asset verification and clearing the compliance backlog we find at survey.

Where TUPE applies, the incumbent team transfers to us and we run the consultation. In most cases keeping them is the right answer — they know the building. We will tell you honestly if we think a role or a shift pattern needs to change, and why.

Yes, and you keep the written report whether or not you appoint us. A survey you have to pay for is a survey designed to end in a sale, and it makes it harder for you to walk away.

Contract terms are agreed with you, not imposed. We would rather earn the renewal than rely on a notice period, and we will say so in the commercial conversation.

Our core maintenance engineers are directly employed. We use specialist subcontractors for a small number of disciplines that need manufacturer accreditation — lifts and certain fire systems, for example — and those are managed by us, to our standard, with the certificates filed in your portal alongside everything else.

Anything that makes the building unsafe, insecure or unable to operate: a total loss of heating, a failed door on the only accessible entrance, an escape route obstruction, a water leak, a security failure. We agree the definition with you in the contract rather than leaving it to interpretation at 3 am.

Yes. We survey the estate, reconcile what has actually been done against what should have been, and pick up the schedule from there. You get a written report of any gaps we find before you commit to anything.

Legal duties stay with the duty holder — usually the building owner or occupier. What we do is deliver and evidence the testing regime that lets you discharge them, and tell you clearly when something is outstanding.

Cover comes from the local mobile team, briefed on your site specification before they arrive. Because we directly employ rather than agency-fill, the cover person has usually worked your site before.

Where TUPE applies, yes — and in our experience keeping the incumbent team is usually the right answer. They know the building. We handle the consultation process and the transfer, and tell you honestly if we think a role needs to change.

Key-holding, alarm codes and access cards are managed under the same contract as our security service, with an audited handover process. Where you prefer to keep control of access, we work to your system.

Yes. Healthcare sites are specified and audited against the National Standards of Healthcare Cleanliness. Food and production environments are specified against your own HACCP or hygiene regime — tell us the standard and we will write the schedule to it.

Yes. Directly employed officers are how we keep the same faces on your site and control response times we've committed to. It also means training, vetting and conduct are ours to answer for.

It is the British Standard for security screening of individuals in environments where the safety of people, goods or property is at risk. In practice it means verified identity and right to work, a five-year employment and education history with gaps accounted for, references taken up, and a criminal record check where the role requires it.

Usually, from the local relief team — but we will tell you honestly if we cannot resource a post properly rather than sending someone who has never seen the building. Short-notice cover with no site familiarisation is worse than no cover for most estates.

We maintain and manage CCTV and access control systems, and where remote monitoring is required we arrange it through an accredited monitoring centre. Recorded footage handling follows your data retention policy and UK GDPR obligations.

Not usually. Most of our property management clients are managing agents or landlords who want the operational delivery and compliance oversight handled by one accountable team. We work alongside the agent, and we are explicit about where our responsibility starts and stops.

By making them rare. Every line in the budget traces back to a specified task, every reactive job has a quote and an approval, and the reporting is monthly. When a query does come, the audit trail answers it.

Yes. Plenty of clients start with one difficult building. If it goes well the rest tends to follow, and that is a better test than a tender document.

A monthly pack covering jobs raised and closed, SLA performance, compliance status by asset, spend against budget, and anything we think you should know about before it becomes a problem. Format is agreed at mobilisation — we would rather fit your board pack than invent a new one.

Yes. Certificates, insurance schedules and policy documents are sent as a pack on request, and we would rather you had them early than discover a gap at pre-qualification stage.

[To be confirmed by the client.] Framework and buying-organisation memberships should be listed here with the reference each buyer will recognise.

Insurance, accreditation, RAMS and references are checked before appointment and reviewed annually. A subcontractor working on your site works to our standard and is managed by us — you should never have to chase one directly.

It opens a non-conformity with an owner and a date, the same as any other failure. It appears in your monthly report. Hiding a failed audit from a client is how a quality system becomes decoration.

We work across Yorkshire, the North West and the northern Midlands, from offices in Sheffield, Leeds and Manchester. Beyond that we would be relying on subcontractors to hit a four-hour response, and we would rather turn the work down than promise something we don't control.

There is no minimum. Plenty of clients start with one building or one service. It is a better test of a supplier than a tender document is.

Regularly. On multi-let estates and residential blocks we often sit behind the agent as the operational and compliance delivery team, with clearly defined responsibilities on both sides.

[To be confirmed by the client — ownership structure, group membership and company registration number belong here.]