September News

HLM turns to Groundlevel for grounds maintenance services to their Bloor Homes development, Peacock Gardens, in Gorton, Manchester

We are also delighted to announce an addition to our education sector portfolio following the award of a grounds maintenance contract with Oxford Grove School in Bolton

Trinity Estates awards Groundlevel strip out and refurbishment works at their Heatley Mere development in Cheshire. This additional work is awarded following the smooth and successful mobilisation of phase 1 of our new business with this prestigious management company, we look forward to replicating this success across further phased implementations of new business.

In its 15th year of operation, Groundlevel is proud to have grown its workforce by 21% in 2012, with scope for substantial further growth throughout the remainder of this year, into 2013 and beyond; creating jobs for people in the North West region and even further afield.

Groundlevel is proud to announce that we will be sponsoring the Teacher of the Year Award at this year’s Wire FM Local Heroes Award Ceremony, being hosted at the Halliwell Jones Stadium on 4th October. We value our education sector clients with extremely high regard, and seek to develop our business in this area based upon reputation for excellence; the opportunity therefore to sponsor this category was not one that we wanted to miss. We look forward to meeting the category winner on the evening.

August News

The Groundlevel management team values the feedback and opinions of their colleagues and continually seeks to offer a positive working experience. The company’s first Employee Engagement Survey has recently been undertaken in order to gauge employee satisfaction, and to encourage ideas and suggestions from all staff. As a fast-growing company, it is important to Groundlevel to continually re-evaluate itself, both as a service provider and an employer. The management team will be reviewing the results of the survey and communicating with staff to notify them of any resulting changes. Thanks to all of our employees who took the time to complete the survey.

Customer feedback is equally important to us, and whether good or bad, the management team always communicates feedback to the relevant individuals. We have recently received another valuable compliment from one of our customers based in Leeds, as follows:-

“I live in a ground floor flat and my private garden area gets done for me by your gardeners at the same time as the communal grounds. This has been done today and I am e-mailing because I would really like some praise to be passed on to the people who have been doing this job lately. They really do a great job and are always paying attention to detail. This is very much appreciated and as I work shifts I have occasionally been in the flat when this work has been done. The gents that do this always work together as quietly and efficiently as they can. I would also like to add that I also find this to be the case for those who clean the windows. I am sometimes sleeping when they arrive due to the nature of my shift work but have never been disturbed by them and I'm sure you will appreciate this is very important to me so I would appreciate if some recognition could be passed on to them. Kind Regards, V Scott”

We have of course passed these comments onto the relevant employees, and would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Andrew Addison and his team of grounds maintenance operatives for this excellent feedback.

Our website has now been updated to include a page dedicated to our mobile teams, introducing you to the specialist staff and their wide ranging capabilities in relation to the services that Groundlevel can offer to its clients.

Groundlevel has also undergone a high level restructure in August, and continues to review departmental structures and staffing levels. It is crucial at this time of rapid growth that we have a robust structure in place to accommodate workloads and manage the business, whilst maintaining the highest levels of service to our new and existing customer base. Our new Senior Management Team consists of experts in the fields of Grounds Maintenance, Soft Services, Finance, Facilities Management, Operational Management and HR / HSE; please see our staff pages for more information about us

Further to recent press releases reporting new contract awards and also the investment made by Seneca, The Business Desk have published an article in August documenting the ongoing relationship with Barclays Business, whose support has given Groundlevel the opportunity to expand its workforce by 25% and continue to grow the business in 2012-13 and beyond. “Groundlevel to add jobs after funding fillip”

July News

New business has been awarded by Trinity Estates, where Groundlevel will be undertaking grounds maintenance services to The Hollies in Northwich and Balderstones in Rochdale. There is also some project and reinstatement work underway at Trinity developments; Holly Court and The Bridge

We are pleased to announce that Kath Nunn, Cleaning Manager is now on the road to recovery after a major health scare and so we look forward to welcoming her back.

RMG adds 7 new sites to the Groundlevel contract portfolio, securing grounds maintenance services to the following developments:

Waters Edge in Mossley
Southport Road in Chorley
Waterford Court in Farnworth
Central Road in Didsbury
Martin House in Manchester
Greenhalgh Court in Garstang
Corbar House in Buxton

RMG also awards substantial internal redecoration project works to Groundlevel for some of their prestigious developments, in addition to looking to us for reactive works on a daily basis

Substantial project work is underway at Lymm High School as Groundlevel carries out extensive improvement works over the summer break to include redecoration works, toilet refurbishments and re-marking of the car park and sports courts. Work is also underway at other local schools, maximising the opportunity to make improvements during the holiday period to avoid disruption.

Jungheinrich looks to Groundlevel for paving works to their Warrington offices; the work has been completed within July by our projects team, and we have also undertaken some tree works at the site

Seneca Group Investment Deal

Further to our announcement on the website in June as part of our 15 year anniversary article, it has been reported in recent press articles that Groundlevel has secured the financial investment of Seneca Group to back its further expansion.

Seneca has taken a minority stake in Groundlevel, and we are delighted to welcome Tim Murphy and Richard Manley who will take a seat on our Board. This investment underpins our plans for growth and is a boost to our staff who remain committed to their professions and ambitious in their desire to succeed.

Manchester Evening News (MEN Media) reported the investment on 4th July. "Groundlevel cash fillip to soar to new heights. FAST-GROWING facilities management firm Groundlevel have today announced a £450,000 boost to fund its expansion. Groundlevel, which is based in Warrington, has received backing from investment business Seneca Group and FW Capital”

The news was also reported by Insider News on the same day. “Independent corporate finance and wealth management group Seneca has taken a minority stake in Warrington-based Groundlevel.”

We would like to take this opportunity to extend our appreciation to our supplier partners who have continued to support us; we look forward to continuing the relationships for many years to come. Thanks also to our valuable clients and customers, this boost will enable us to continue to invest in the business, ensuring that we remain competitive and dynamic in the services and technologies that we can offer.

June News

Trinity Estates and Redrow houses are delighted with service levels, and workmanship delivered by Groundlevel at the picturesque Dibbins Brook development in Bromborough. Following a one-off job undertaken by one of our grounds teams, we have now been awarded an annual contract to provide grounds maintenance services to the vast landscape on the development.

Our thanks to Mark Meakin on our grounds team, who has been commended by the client for his proven commitment to service excellence whilst working on this development

Contractors Health and Safety Assessment Scheme

Committed to Health and Safety, Groundlevel is pleased to have been awarded CHAS accreditation for the fourth consecutive year. To read more about what this means, please see the CHAS website

Warrington Guardian Press Release

Our prestigious new contract award was reported on our own website, and is celebrated in our fifteenth year of operation. It was also reported by the Warrington Guardian on 28th June, and we are extremely proud to have been awarded this new business by our valued property management client. Mobilisation of the new contract is expected to commence over the summer and will create exciting opportunities for new and existing staff.

6 new vans arrive at Groundlevel to accommodate the growth of the business in light of new and imminent contract awards

Premier Estates extend their contract with Groundlevel across three new sites in St Helens and Golbourne. Groundlevel is pleased to have been awarded an annual contract to provide grounds maintenance services to Greenway Court and Sherbourne Park in St Helens, and also Grimshaw Court in Golbourne.

Apprenticeships

At Groundlevel, we invest in people and have supported numerous employees in their professional development through NVQ’s and such like. In June 2012, we have employed two young apprentices and are pleased to welcome them to our organisation, and proud to have the opportunity to support them in their studies within their chosen trades.

Dan Abram joins us as a Painting and Decorating Apprentice; he is scheduled to undergo initial course assessments shortly with Warrington Colllegiate Institute and will begin his course in September 2012

Lewis Paton will also be studying at Warrington Collegiate Institute; he joins us as an Electrical Apprentice and looks forward to starting his electrical engineering course in September 2012

Amanda Syverson welcomes Dan and Lewis on behalf of the company, and wishes them every success in their studies. We look forward to seeing their progress