This pledge comes after the business, formed of Wates Living Space and Wates FM, ended its inaugural year of operation. This year saw the launch of Wates FM, a leading business in FM with expanded nationwide capabilities in total facilities management.
Key to WPS's growth strategy will be Wates Living Spaces' continued strength in its core repairs and maintenance markets as well as its expansion in Fire Risk Assessments (FRA), compliance and cladding.
In addition, WPS will seek to grow its investment in sustainable technologies in support of the Wates Group's wider commitment to achieving zero waste and carbon from its operations by 2025.
Through its combined operations, WPS manages 500,000 homes and 350 commercial buildings on behalf of a combined client base of 85 key customers across 14 different sectors.
David Morgan, Managing Director of Wates Property Services, commented: "2019 was an incredible year with the launch of Wates Property Services, where we began to maximise the synergies of both Wates Living Space and Wates FM to present an even stronger proposition to existing and prospective clients. Throughout the year Wates Living Space grew in its core responsive and planned maintenance sectors, while cementing its position as a leading and innovative service partner in the vital work being done across the industry in FRA and compliance.
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"Alongside our growth ambition sits our unwavering commitment to supporting the communities in which we work. In 2019 Wates Living Space spent in excess of £1m with Social Enterprises (SEs), helping the Wates Group achieve its ambitious target to spend £20m with the sector by 2020. We look forward to continuing to support SEs and utilising our contracts across the UK to train local people while always seeking new ways to leave a positive legacy through our support of local community groups, schools and charities."
James Gregg, Managing Director of Wates FM, added: "The launch of both Wates Property Services and the new strategic direction for Wates FM makes 2019 a very hard year to top but we have a very exciting growth trajectory for 2020 and beyond that will open up huge opportunities to deliver excellence for our clients, recruit new talent and lead our sector.
"In 2019 we retained 100% of our current customers and extended service agreements with six of our key clients, which is a huge testament to our position as a high quality and trusted FM partner. A key area of our business development strategy has seen us expand our presence in the public sector, which we intend to grow in 2020 as we look to build on the great work being done on behalf of West Midlands Police. We will also continue to support some of the UK's critical infrastructure through our total FM services for Smart DCC and mechanical and electrical services on behalf of HMRC.
"I am particularly proud of the impeccable standards we maintained in our health and safety in 2019; it has been over 1,000 days since our last RIDDOR and we had a Zero Lost Time Incident Rate or High Potential Incidents throughout the year, proving that zero harm in our industry is possible. I’m very much looking forward to what the year ahead will bring and to the successes we will share with our Wates Property Services colleagues."
Wates FM currently manages over 350 commercial properties, delivering services including statutory compliance, cleaning, security, catering, porterage, front-of-house, help desks and computer-aided facilities management (CAFM), as well as mechanical and electrical and building fabric maintenance through a mix of site based and mobile teams.
