Service Category: Built Assets

Graduate Building Surveyor

We have an excellent opportunity for a graduate building surveyor to join our growing Manchester office. Whether you are a recent Building Surveying graduate, or already have some experience, you will be part of an expanding team working on a wide range of building surveying disciplines in a commercial environment. You will be part of a very supportive environment with full support provided to achieve your APC, which includes attending our corporate graduate training sessions, bringing together national experts to up skill both TFT and client graduates.

TFT is passionate about people development and will provide you with excellent and progressive career opportunities, alongside sponsored learning.

As this is a graduate position you will be expected to in the office at least 4 days a week initially, to work closely with the team and support your knowledge development.

About TFT

TFT is the leading independent firm of Development, Built Asset & Engineering and Sustainability consultants. We place the wellbeing of people and the performance of buildings at the heart of everything we do.

We’re proud of our reputation for integrity and delivering work of the highest quality, blended with commercial pragmatism. We offer a strong track record across all commercial property sectors, advising investors, developers, occupiers and owners on maximising best property asset values. Diversity and strength in depth is important to us. Whether it be a technical thought leader with a career’s experience – or a recently qualified rising star – in today’s risk averse world you need people on your side with a reputation for diligence, transparency, intellect and commercial insight. Clients see TFT as large enough to provide the expertise and resources to get the best from their portfolios, and small enough for it to matter personally.

We have over 180 employees operating from a network of offices in Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge, Cardiff, Dublin, Edinburgh, Guildford, London, Manchester, Leeds and Southampton.

TFT is passionate about people development and will provide you with excellent and progressive career opportunities and sponsored learning.

Key accountabilities

TFT has an enviable client list and you will work with institutional funds such as M&G, L&G & Aviva among others. You will have the opportunity to work on a mix of professional and project work including:

  • Contract administration
  • Surveys and scheduled of condition
  • Technical due diligence
  • Dilapidations
  • Building Pathology
  • Due diligence services
  • Specification/maintenance management
  • PPM, RCA’s and licences to alter
  • Pre-acquisition surveys
  • Project Monitoring
  • Working to complete APC competencies

Performance criteria

  • BSc (Hons) or MSc Building Surveying (RICS accredited course), or equivalent, such as an apprenticeship
  • Experience in a commercial BS firm would be useful but not essential
  • Confident in talking to a wide range of people to build relationships
  • Experience of CAD would be an advantage but not compulsory

Skills and behaviour

  • Must be a good team player but able to work independently
  • Confident communicator both verbally and in writing
  • Driven and ambitious to achieve
  • Thorough understanding of the needs and demands of a wide range of people and how to meet and exceed their expectations
  • Proactive and uses initiative for personal knowledge development
  • Accurate with high attention to detail
  • Excellent time management skills
  • Must have a driving licence and access to use of a car due to location of work
  • Willing to travel

Package indicators

Competitive salary offered plus benefits: discretionary bonus scheme, mobile phone & laptop, Private Health Care (after 6 months), Personal Accident cover, Life Assurance, 25 days’ holiday, and one day a year charity leave. Company pension scheme after 3 months.

Cycle scheme and interest free season ticket loan on completion of probationary period.

We are BCorp Certified!

As TFT’s impact on the world has grown with the size of our business and the scale of our client services, we are determined that our future growth continues to be positive and sustainable. B Corp certification enables us to do just that, by recognising the highest standards of social and environmental performance and aligning our ongoing efforts with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. https://www.tftconsultants.com/tft-is-a-certified-b-corp/

DEI at TFT

At TFT we don’t aim to tick boxes and count numbers and percentages, we create an environment where anyone, from any background and life experience, can do their best work. We empower you to bring your full, authentic self to work. We are diverse by nature and inclusive by choice.

If you’re driven to perform, you’ll fit right in, we approach work fearlessly, learn quickly and improve constantly. A bright idea can come from anyone. We believe diversity drives innovation.

Our approach to diversity, equity and inclusion is simple – we embrace everyone. We wouldn’t approach a building survey in a one-dimensional way, so we don’t our people.

 

Senior or Associate Building Surveyor

An excellent opportunity for a Senior or Associate Chartered Building Surveyor to play a key part in the commercial building surveying team in our Dublin office, providing high calibre professional advice to clients.

You will support delivery and growth of services in Ireland, forging relationships with both internal and external clients to deliver market leading advice. Clients include high-level global investor and corporate occupier client base, including Aviva, EQT Exeter, Dublin Airport, Amazon, UPS, M&G and GIC.

As a commercially focused building surveyor, passionate about supporting and motivating a team, you will be helping us to grow the Dublin office and maintain and further develop client relationships and diversify the range of our current service offering, as well as progressing your own career.

We are passionate about people and you will be part of a flexible and very supportive environment with great opportunities for career progression.

About TFT

TFT is the leading independent firm of Development, Built Asset & Engineering and Sustainability consultants. We place the wellbeing of people and the performance of buildings at the heart of everything we do.

We’re proud of our reputation for integrity and delivering work of the highest quality, blended with commercial pragmatism. We offer a strong track record across all commercial property sectors, advising investors, developers, occupiers and owners on maximising best property asset values. Diversity and strength in depth is important to us. Whether it be a technical thought leader with a career’s experience – or a recently qualified rising star – in today’s risk averse world you need people on your side with a reputation for diligence, transparency, intellect and commercial insight. Clients see TFT as large enough to provide the expertise and resources to get the best from their portfolios, and small enough for it to matter personally.

We have over 180 employees operating from a network of offices in Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge, Cardiff, Dublin, Edinburgh, Guildford, London, Manchester, Leeds and Southampton.

TFT is passionate about people development and will provide you with excellent and progressive career opportunities and sponsored learning.

Key accountabilities

Primarily working within the commercial sector, undertaking all round building surveying work including:

  • Technical Due Diligence
  • Monitoring
  • Refurbishment and redevelopment projects
  • Contract administration
  • Pre-acquisition surveys
  • PPM
  • General building surveying commercial work e.g. Dilapidations

Performance criteria

  • MRICS with relevant experience as above
  • Degree in Building Surveying, or equivalent e.g. apprenticeship
  • Clear & concise report writing skills
  • Expertise in general building surveying i.e. contract administration and dilapidations
  • Experience of working in a pro-active commercial environment
  • Sound knowledge of building contracts in a commercial context
  • Able to meet fee targets and generate new business through building successful client relationships
  • Commercial awareness and understanding
  • Embraces technology to deliver reports efficiently
  • High level of up to date technical building knowledge

Skills and behaviour

  • Must be a good team player and able to work independently
  • Confident and concise communicator both verbally and in writing
  • Driven individual with a strong track record in client management and business development
  • Excellent client relationship management and business development abilities
  • Use of digital dictation systems to work effectively and efficiently
  • Aspirational and motivated to develop within the business
  • Senior profile with motivational skills to play a key role in core service lines within the business (regionally and nationally)
  • Passionate about people and can clearly demonstrate leadership capabilities to assist in team and office management and growth
  • Diverse approach to working with different people (excellent communication and interpersonal skills)
  • Commercially focused: capable of developing client relationships, socially adept and able to network at business development events
  • Able to demonstrate successful CRM and business development

Package indicators

  • Flexible & hybrid working
  • Competitive salary and car allowance, fee plus bonus scheme, mobile phone & laptop, 25 days holiday, annual wellbeing and volunteering day.

We are BCorp Certified!

As TFT’s impact on the world has grown with the size of our business and the scale of our client services, we are determined that our future growth continues to be positive and sustainable. B Corp certification enables us to do just that, by recognising the highest standards of social and environmental performance and aligning our ongoing efforts with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. https://www.tftconsultants.com/tft-is-a-certified-b-corp/

DEI at TFT

At TFT we don’t aim to tick boxes and count numbers and percentages, we create an environment where anyone, from any background and life experience, can do their best work. We empower you to bring your full, authentic self to work. We are diverse by nature and inclusive by choice.

If you’re driven to perform, you’ll fit right in, we approach work fearlessly, learn quickly and improve constantly. A bright idea can come from anyone. We believe diversity drives innovation.

Our approach to diversity, equity and inclusion is simple – we embrace everyone. We wouldn’t approach a building survey in a one-dimensional way, so we don’t our people.

Senior or Associate Project Manager

A highly rewarding senior appointment to deliver and develop project consultancy based in the London office, providing high calibre fast paced project management and employer’s agent services to high-end commercial clients. The primary role will be to service current workload, including investor led refurbishment and added value schemes across commercial office, residential, retail and industrial asset classes.

As a commercially focused Project Manager, passionate about supporting and motivating a team, you will be helping us to support the growth plans for the London office and maintain and further develop client relationships and diversify the range of our current service offering, as well as progressing your own career.

We are passionate about people and you will be part of a flexible and very supportive environment with great opportunities for career progression.

About TFT

TFT is the leading independent firm of Development, Built Asset & Engineering and Sustainability consultants. We place the wellbeing of people and the performance of buildings at the heart of everything we do.

We’re proud of our reputation for integrity and delivering work of the highest quality, blended with commercial pragmatism. We offer a strong track record across all commercial property sectors, advising investors, developers, occupiers and owners on maximising best property asset values. Diversity and strength in depth is important to us. Whether it be a technical thought leader with a career’s experience – or a recently qualified rising star – in today’s risk averse world you need people on your side with a reputation for diligence, transparency, intellect and commercial insight. Clients see TFT as large enough to provide the expertise and resources to get the best from their portfolios, and small enough for it to matter personally.

We have over 180 employees operating from a network of offices in Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge, Cardiff, Dublin, Edinburgh, Guildford, London, Manchester, Leeds and Southampton.

TFT is passionate about people development and will provide you with excellent and progressive career opportunities and sponsored learning.

Key accountabilities

  1. Primarily working within the commercial sector, undertaking:
    1. Project management services on office, retail, residential (and other) new build, refurbishment, alteration, extension, and fit-out projects on schemes typically ranging from £2m to £50m, but with some far in excess of this
    2. Contract Administration and Employer’s Agent Role
  2. Enhance TFT’s service offering for project delivery
  3. Good working knowledge of key JCT contracts, including experience in contractual issues such as extension of time, loss and expense claims et
  4. Building new business to support strategic growth objectives by securing repeat business through successful project delivery
  5. Develop and execute a plan to build your profile and workload in London, and win new business
  6. Support the growth of the London project team working closely with the Directors
  7. Leverage existing and historic relationships to develop new business for TFT

Performance criteria

  1. MRICS or MAPM qualified ideally from a Building Surveying or technical background (Architecture or Engineering for example)
  2. Fast paced commercial approach, familiar with progressing challenging projects and meeting demanding deadlines
  3. Effective user of technology to promptly and thoroughly record and share project data
  4. Strong relevant track record in autonomous project delivery
  5. Proven success in ability to meet and exceed fee targets
  6. Building client relationships with positive outcomes
  7. Leading project teams and building trust
  8. A profile and reputation in the market for delivering PM services

Skills and behaviour

  1. Business focussed
  2. Sought out by existing clients for repeat business
  3. Socially adept and networks at business development events
  4. Confident, client facing communicator both verbally and in writing
  5. Strong excel capability
  6. Able to manage and lead others and project teams
  7. Lateral mindedness – able to think creatively to develop the brief, assemble the team and drive them through the feasibility, outline, detailed and final proposals stages of the design.
  8. Organised and able to manage multiple key project issues to ensure projects remain on track
  9. Commercially driven
  10. Comfortable as the key client contact for each project where necessary
  11. Must be a positive team player but able to work independently

What’s in it for you?

  • Competitive salary and car allowance. Flexible & hybrid working
  • Rewarding career with excellent career opportunities. We create personalised career development plans and promotion is based on personal performance and not time served
  • Fee Plus bonus scheme, mobile phone & laptop, personal accident cover, private health care (after 6 months), life assurance, 25 days holiday, annual wellbeing and volunteering day.
  • Company pension scheme after 3 months
  • Season ticket loan and cycle scheme on completion of probationary period

We are BCorp Certified!

As TFT’s impact on the world has grown with the size of our business and the scale of our client services, we are determined that our future growth continues to be positive and sustainable. B Corp certification enables us to do just that, by recognising the highest standards of social and environmental performance and aligning our ongoing efforts with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. https://www.tftconsultants.com/tft-is-a-certified-b-corp/

DEI at TFT

At TFT we don’t aim to tick boxes and count numbers and percentages, we create an environment where anyone, from any background and life experience, can do their best work. We empower you to bring your full, authentic self to work. We are diverse by nature and inclusive by choice.

If you’re driven to perform, you’ll fit right in, we approach work fearlessly, learn quickly and improve constantly. A bright idea can come from anyone. We believe diversity drives innovation.

Our approach to diversity, equity and inclusion is simple – we embrace everyone. We wouldn’t approach a building survey in a one-dimensional way, so we don’t our people.

 

Graduate Sustainability Consultant

An excellent opportunity for a Graduate or Early Career Professional to become part of our friendly and collaborative environment within the Sustainability team. Opportunities for growth and gaining new skills, working for high profile clients and working on exciting projects across various sectors, predominantly commercial, but also retail, residential, and industrial. This role will suit someone keen to establish themselves in a leading consultancy practice and support the growth of our team.

Our Sustainability team is based across the country and works with predominantly commercial clients, via a wide range of disciplines to offer best in class sustainability advice. You will be based in the London office and be part of a supportive team providing specialist resources for current instructions in London, the Southeast and wider locations.

We work across all the stages of a project life cycle offering sustainability services tailored to the needs of our clients, including strategic sustainability frameworks, sustainability co-ordination and specialist studies including net zero roadmaps, Life Cycle Assessments (LCA), circular economy studies and certification (BREEAM, LEED, WELL, NABERS UK).

TFT is passionate about people and providing individually focused career development. Our Sustainability team will support your career and will work to tailor your role to suit your interests in sustainability including sponsoring training opportunities. We encourage your engagement in CPD and knowledge development at industry events, working groups, and attendance at networking events.

Key relationships

You will work directly with Consultants, Associates and Associate Directors in the Sustainability team and you will be part of the wider Sustainability and MEP team, working closely with colleagues in Project Management and other TFT Service Lines.

You will be working with clients such as The Crown Estate, Derwent London, Grosvenor and Big Yellow Storage delivering on a mix of project work and strategic development frameworks ranging across speculative CAT A fit-out, new build offices, refurb fit-out for commercial buildings and residential developments.

Key accountabilities

  1. To work with project teams (internal and external) to develop resource efficient/low carbon buildings with circular economy principles.
  2. Undertake sustainability appraisals of development projects and produce accompanying reports to be submitted for planning.
  3. Support the sustainability coordination of projects driving innovation and monitoring the integration of a broad range of sustainability aspects into design, construction and operation; including designing for performance, climate resilience, healthy/sustainable materials and circularity, whole life carbon and social value.
  4. Assist with BREEAM certification projects (or other certification as appropriate), including the pragmatic, cost effective development of design strategies with the project team, validation of evidence submitted, updating tracking record documents, monitoring design development, writing meeting minutes
  5. Assist with delivery of project specific Net Zero Carbon Roadmaps, decarbonisation strategies.
  6. Develop a broad understanding of sustainability and climate change issues as they relate to the built environment including application of BREEAM, WELL, DfP, LEED, CREEM and other benchmarking systems.
  7. Opportunity to undertake Whole Life Carbon and Life Cycle Costing modelling to recommend Embodied Carbon solutions for new and existing buildings (if interested, experienced).

Essential skills and experience

  1. Passion for sustainability and general interest in design themes, and UK policy frameworks and benchmarks.
  2. Undergraduate or post-graduate degree in a related field (Sustainability, Architecture, Building Services etc.).
  3. General knowledge of the built environment and building materials.
  4. General understanding of the construction and design process (RIBA stages).
  5. Excellent communication skills (verbal and written).
  6. Ability to write clear and concise reports (training will be provided for TFT specific reports)

Experienced in two or more of the following areas would be an advantage but not a must:

  1. Ability to communicate, influence, and embed sustainability within a project team.
  2. Previous relevant experience in sustainable design or experience within a sustainability consultancy.
  3. Sustainability assessments (BREEAM, HQM, LEED)
  4. Wellbeing (WELL, Fitwel)
  5. Circular economy & Embodied carbon (Life cycle assessments, Life cycle costing)
  6. Energy modelling (EPC, SAP)
  7. Operational carbon (DfP, NABERS)
  8. Supporting the sustainability coordination of projects, Net zero roadmaps, decarbonisation strategies

Your reward

Competitive salary offered plus benefits: discretionary bonus scheme, mobile phone & laptop to support flexible working, Private Health Care (after 6 months), Personal Accident cover, Life Assurance, 25 days holiday and 1 day charity leave per year.

Company pension scheme after 3 months.

Cycle scheme and interest free season ticket loan on completion of probationary period.

About TFT

TFT is the leading independent firm of Development, Built Asset & Engineering and Sustainability consultants. We place the wellbeing of people and the performance of buildings at the heart of everything we do.

TFT is an employee ownership trust (EOT), which means that our whole team shares equally in TFT’s success and future growth. It also means that our long-term commitments – for our team’s security, our clients’ quality of work, and our wider ambition to create a better built environment – are protected from possible external conflict.  As we ready ourselves for the challenges of the coming decades, we hope our EOT structure puts us in the best place to harness our team’s ideas, skills and passion to meet them.

We’re proud of our reputation for integrity and delivering work of the highest quality, blended with commercial pragmatism. We offer a strong track record across all commercial property sectors, advising investors, developers, occupiers and owners on maximising best property asset values. Diversity and strength in depth is important to us. Whether it be a technical thought leader with a career’s experience – or a recently qualified rising star – in today’s risk averse world you need people on your side with a reputation for diligence, transparency, intellect and commercial insight. Clients see TFT as large enough to provide the expertise and resources to get the best from their portfolios, and small enough for it to matter personally.

We have over 170 employees operating from a network of offices in Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge, Cardiff, Dublin, Edinburgh, Guildford, London, Manchester, Leeds and Southampton.

TFT is passionate about people development and will provide you with excellent and progressive career opportunities and sponsored learning.

We are BCorp Certified!

As TFT’s impact on the world has grown with the size of our business and the scale of our client services, we are determined that our future growth continues to be positive and sustainable. B Corp certification enables us to do just that, by recognising the highest standards of social and environmental performance and aligning our ongoing efforts with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. https://www.tftconsultants.com/tft-is-a-certified-b-corp/

DEI at TFT

At TFT we don’t aim to tick boxes and count numbers and percentages, we create an environment where anyone, from any background and life experience, can do their best work. We empower you to bring your full, authentic self to work. We are diverse by nature and inclusive by choice.

If you’re driven to perform, you’ll fit right in, we approach work fearlessly, learn quickly and improve constantly. A bright idea can come from anyone. We believe diversity drives innovation.

Our approach to diversity, equity and inclusion is simple – we embrace everyone. We wouldn’t approach a building survey in a one-dimensional way, so we don’t our people.

 

The Building Safety Act: creating safer buildings sooner

As the Building Safety Act (BSA) drives building owners to improve the safety of residential buildings, investors and developers undertaking these works must manage project timescales around new requirements while the wider industry upskills and adapts.

Creating a new generation of safer buildings and more valuable assets for the long term means navigating the BSA as part of an ongoing investment decision-making process. TFT has been helping our clients meet these requirements by carefully managing timescales, inputs, outputs, the details required at each stage, the required competency of those involved, and risk mitigation measures throughout.

TFT Director Robin Holme provided BE News with an overview of the BSA process, and the ways in which investors and funders should navigate its requirements. You can read the full article here.

What does the BSA require from investors and developers?

The BSA relies on the ‘Gateway’ approvals process for new properties which are at least 18 metres or seven storeys in height and contain at least two residential units. These are defined as ‘Higher Risk Buildings’ (HRBs).

A pipeline of up to 500 HRBs are expected to be constructed in the UK each year, in addition to the existing stock of around 12,500 such buildings. Consent from the newly created Building Safety Regulator (BSR), which operates within the existing Health and Safety Executive (HSE), must be obtained for new properties at each of three new Gateway stages: 1 (Planning), 2 (Pre-Construction) and 3 (Completion prior to occupation).

The BSA became law in the middle of 2022, and this new process creates uncertainty for investors. In particular:

  • Will pipeline developments get sign-off at Gateway 3 within the timescales promised by the act?
  • Will key lease commencement dates will be met?
  • Will extensive delays result in the loss of projected income streams?

These are valid concerns and are best addressed by planning for the various risks associated with each Gateway stage before they threaten to impact upon the project’s viability.

If you are considering or currently involved in building safety works, get in touch with Robin Holme here to see how TFT could help you.

Considering the BSA from feasibility stages

Buildings cannot legally be occupied until a Building Completion Certificate is issued, meaning new developments are unusable until one is obtained.

However, certification is issued by the BSR eight weeks after registration of the property, and must be applied for. The quality of the application submission is essential given the timescales at hand, and must include an assessment and evidence of competence of key parties to a development.

The best way to develop a good understanding of the assessment process is to get early advice on the BSA at feasibility stages, and ensure the team can navigate its challenges.

During Gateways 1 & 2, realistic programming and procurement strategies are required to deliver the level of detail needed within the available timescales to ensure BSR consent is achieved and the expectations of interested parties are managed and properly built into investment strategies from the outset.

Don’t forget: the BSR seeks to achieve full compliance of all parts of the building regulations, not just fire and structural safety elements.

As with planning applications, the BSR has a 12-week statutory period to review applications and respond, although our current experience has seen a 16 to 20-week period for this review. It cannot be consulted throughout the design process and will only provide feedback once a full review is concluded. To date, just around 50% of BSR submissions have achieved consent at first application, a significant risk to project timescales. The additional time involved in re-submission can add weeks to the final practical completion (PC) date and the associated costs.

Clients and their project teams can take advice from approved inspectors to review designs and their likely compliance prior to making a BSR submission. However, there are no guarantees that compliance will be achieved. We always recommend that clients seek strategy advice as early in the process as possible allowing risk mitigations to be considered and built into project plans at the earliest opportunity.

Are you considering or currently involved in building safety works? Get in touch with Robin Holme here to see how TFT could help you.

Enabling practical and successful completion

As a project moves forward in Gateway 3, the focus shifts to obtaining PC and the Building Completion Certificate from the BSR. Managing and minimising timings between these two dates is another key risk. Because HRBs cannot be occupied until the Completion Certificate is obtained and the building registered with the regulator, completed buildings risk sitting empty for many weeks waiting for approval before allowing new occupiers to move in.

Clients – assisted by the duty holders – must submit a Completion Certificate application at the correct time with the right information, together with signed declarations from both principal contractor and designer that the works and building comply with the Building Regulations. At this point, the principal accountable person for the occupation phase must confirm that the ‘golden thread information’ and key building information has been handed over to them.

The BSR is required to approve the application for a Completion Certificate in a 12-week period, however, once again there is no certainty in this timeframe.

All occupied existing HRBs had to be registered with the BSR by 1 October 2023 after which point it became a criminal offence for the principal accountable person to allow the building to continue to be occupied. A Building Safety Case Report is also required for these registered buildings, with April 2024 being the date set by the regulator to provide comprehensive building safety information, outlining risk management strategies and – critically – fire and structural safety measures. In reality, the regulator has started reviewing safety case reports from this date, although they are taking a pragmatic and proportionate approach.

There is no assurance that the submitted Safety Case will gain approval and it may ultimately be rejected by the BSR. To have the best chance of success, project teams must begin the process now to develop a clear plan and demonstrate how they are meeting the act’s requirements.

The regulator aims to assess all buildings for the first time within five years with priority given to HRBs for assessment based on height and number of dwellings. Since the start of April 2024, the BSR has begun to call in buildings for assessment and issue Building Assessment Certificates, which is also when the requirements relating to registration for building inspectors and building control approvers became enforceable.

Our own, direct experience to date of the processes outlined is that these have already exposed many potentially serious issues with existing properties which fall short of the requirements expected by the BSR, particularly those relating to structural and fire safety. It is clear that bridging the knowledge gap between identified challenges and producing viable solutions is required to meet those requirements across the board. Having the right team able to demonstrate competency is essential for this. This is not just the key duty holders – including the client, all contractors and designers – but also fire, façade and structural engineers and the legal team.

Stakeholders need to come together as early in the process as possible, to anticipate and properly manage any possible barriers and delays. Through better integration and involvement of all relevant members of the development team as early as possible, the effectiveness of this continually adjusting statutory process to deliver a project can be optimised and the risks reduced to building owners, investors and users.

If you are considering or currently involved in building safety works, get in touch with Robin Holme here to see how TFT could help you.

Holbein Gardens, London

The transformation of Holbein Gardens saw a tired 1980s office building refurbished and extended to create a modern workplace. The scheme embracing biodiversity, energy efficiency and circular construction methods which delivered a low embodied carbon scheme.

TFT’s work on this project began when we co-created Grosvenor’s sustainable development brief. The brief encompasses themes such as climate resilience, social benefit, connectivity, green spaces, resource use and much more, to set the stage for more sustainable projects across the Grosvenor portfolio.

Holbein Gardens became a test case for the brief, and we took a holistic approach to creating a more sustainable space. We applied the brief from top to bottom: from its blue roof down to its windows – openable and connected to air quality sensors which monitored outside conditions – through to use of lime plaster with low VOCs down to the floors, which were reused along with other materials throughout the project.

A new lease of life for existing materials

Holbein Gardens is a LETI (London Energy Transformation Initiative) Pioneer Project, with 300kg/co2e/m2 embodied carbon – even lower than LETI’s 2030 upfront carbon target (350kgCO2/m2). We did this by using reclaimed steel for 34% of the structure as well as reclaimed stone and brickwork. We also eliminated 99% of site waste, and designed the structure and brickwork for future disassembly, preserving these materials for another life.

Circularity was at the heart of our approach to the scheme, particularly important when considering carbon-intense steel elements. Part of the solution was to extract steel from another Grosvenor site in Bermondsey, analysing the most suitable material, adapting it for Holbein Gardens and incorporating it within the new structure.  

In turn, steel in the former roof of Holbein Gardens went through the same process, becoming new risers in the refurbished building. Some steel which came out of Holbein Gardens during this project found a new home elsewhere, as part of the roof at Grosvenor’s Fivefields building.

A detailed approach to sustainability

Holbein Gardens is designed to operate as an energy-efficient space, with efficient lighting, mechanical equipment, and a renewable energy supply.

We also included the following measures to reduce operational energy in-use:  

  • Openable windows and passive design measures to enable future adaptation for different uses or climate scenarios 
  • Natural daylight optimisation to reduce artificial lighting requirements and energy demands 
  • A complete programme for future Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing & Heating (MEPH) plant replacement, and plans for planned preventative maintenance (PPM) all designed to extend the useful life of the plant equipment 

 We also considered measures to improve the wellbeing of occupants and deliver a biodiversity net gain of 200%, by dedicating 11% of the building’s Gross Internal Area (GIA) to green spaces that support the Wild West End initiative. The Wild West End aims to create more green urban infrastructure through a combination of green roofs and walls, planters and flower boxes, street trees to provide a habitat for birds, bees and bats. The initiative also improves quality of life for people, lowering stress levels and increasing satisfaction and wellbeing in the public realm, creating an environment for us all to live, work, and visit. 

Holbein Gardens is constructed within UKGBC’s Net Zero Carbon Framework, targeting:

  • EPC A rating
  • NABERS 4.5*
  • BREEAM Outstanding
  • WELL Enabled

Staff Stories – Neil Wotherspoon

Our latest Staff Stories episode has two special guests! 

Neil Wotherspoon, Senior Director in our Edinburgh office, dives into his career journey, his motivations and how he fits work and life together. Most importantly we also get to hear from his daughters, Chloe & Imogen, telling us what their dad’s work is really all about!

Office Administrator

We have an opportunity for a people facing office administrator to join a growing building consultancy to give support to team members located within our Bristol office. Due to the nature of this opportunity, and the people facing requirements, this is an office based role. Training opportunities are available to support progression to compile complicated secretarial reports and support the technical team.

As well as supporting the day-to-day smooth running and efficiencies of the Bristol office, meeting and greeting visitors and setting up meeting rooms, there is a requirement for proficient professional secretarial skills, compiling commercial building surveying reports, audio typing and taking meeting minutes.

Existing client facing experience is essential but for the particulars of the role full training will be provided.

Key accountabilities

  1. Office management and administration
  2. Travel bookings including train, hotels and flights
  3. Ordering of office supplies, stationery, coffee, milk, fruit and refreshments for meetings.
  4. Meet and greet visitors and provide refreshments (the office is on the 3rd floor)
  5. Setting up meeting rooms (including lunch/refreshments where needed) and ensuring IT equipment is working as required. Tidying up once meeting is complete.
  6. PA support to Senior Directors
  7. First aider and fire Marshall (training can be provided)
  8. Support arranging office events.
  9. Dead filing
  10. General typing, copying, collating as necessary to ensure the efficient running of the team.
  11. Photocopying and binding reports and documents as necessary, with the progress towards sustainable methods of data share, utilise the digital technologies available at TFT to reduce the need for physical report production.
  12. Reception duties: answering telephone calls, take accurate messages and circulate them in a timely manner. Be able confident to manage difficult calls.
  13. Setting up meeting rooms (including lunch/refreshments where needed) and ensuring IT equipment is working as required. Tidying up once meeting is complete.
  14. General housekeeping for the office, ensure the space is kept tidy, including arrangements for the disposal of confidential waste, arranging service/fault calls for IT and office equipment, keeping the notice boards up to date.
  15. Diary management of the meeting spaces for internal and external meetings, arranging appointments, booking travel and accommodation.
  16. Dealing with the incoming and outgoing post and taking parcels to the post office when needed.
  17. Liaison with the Knowledge Hub during peak times, absence and holidays to ensure that the effectiveness of the support services team is not compromised
  18. Any other reasonable tasks that may be required as part of the role to support the office/team.

Performance criteria

  1. Ability to flex to a range of tasks as required
  2. Self starter able to think on your feet
  3. Document formatting skills
  4. Professional telephone manner
  5. Good knowledge of Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint
  6. Ensure that all documents issued and systems operated comply with the TFT standards.
  7. Comply with TFT management systems and policies, utilising Core and inter-related IT Systems.

Skills and behaviour

  1. Willingness to learn new skills and be flexible with a can do approach
  2. Strong capability with technology and wiling embrace new systems
  3. Excellent administration, communication and organisational skills
  4. Proactive approach to tasks, ability to prioritise effectively
  5. Reliable and able to use your own initiative
  6. Able to work independently and as part of a team
  7. Flexibility to support office administration needs
  8. Accuracy with attention to detail
  9. Confidentiality

What’s in it for you?

Competitive salary offered plus benefits: Private Health Care (after 6 months), Life Assurance, 25 days holiday, 1 day charity leave and 1 wellbeing day per year.

Cycle scheme and interest free season ticket loan and company contributory pension scheme on completion of probationary period.

About TFT

TFT is the leading independent firm of Development, Built Asset & Engineering and Sustainability consultants. We place the wellbeing of people and the performance of buildings at the heart of everything we do.

We’re proud of our reputation for integrity and delivering work of the highest quality, blended with commercial pragmatism. We offer a strong track record across all commercial property sectors, advising investors, developers, occupiers and owners on maximising best property asset values. Diversity and strength in depth is important to us. Whether it be a technical thought leader with a career’s experience – or a recently qualified rising star – in today’s risk averse world you need people on your side with a reputation for diligence, transparency, intellect and commercial insight. Clients see TFT as large enough to provide the expertise and resources to get the best from their portfolios, and small enough for it to matter personally.

We have over 180 Senior Directors and employees operating from a network of offices in Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge, Cardiff, Dublin, Edinburgh, Guildford, London, Manchester, Leeds and Southampton.

TFT is passionate about people development and will provide you with excellent and progressive career opportunities and sponsored learning.

We are BCorp Certified!

As TFT’s impact on the world has grown with the size of our business and the scale of our client services, we are determined that our future growth continues to be positive and sustainable. BCorp certification enables us to do just that, by recognising the highest standards of social and environmental performance and aligning our ongoing efforts with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. https://www.tftconsultants.com/tft-is-a-certified-b-corp/

DEI at TFT

At TFT we don’t aim to tick boxes and count numbers and percentages, we create an environment where anyone, from any background and life experience, can do their best work. We empower you to bring your full, authentic self to work. We are diverse by nature and inclusive by choice.

If you’re driven to perform, you’ll fit right in, we approach work fearlessly, learn quickly and improve constantly. A bright idea can come from anyone. We believe diversity drives innovation.

Our approach to diversity, equity and inclusion is simple – we embrace everyone. We wouldn’t approach a building survey in a one-dimensional way, so we don’t our people.

TFT x Coutts: B Corp or bespoke?

TFT’s B Corp journey is well underway and, with recertification beginning next year we feel many benefits from the framework and the community which comes with it. But, it’s far from the only game in town when it comes to setting and achieving ESG goals – and no conversation about sustainable business would be complete without non-B Corp voices contributing to it.

So we set out to create a more inclusive, constructive forum bringing together B Corp perspectives with those seeking other frameworks for positive impact. That includes, increasingly, a self-defined approach to defining and measuring sustainability.

That forum took place last week (July 9th 2024) when we joined up with Coutts for ‘B Corp or bespoke?’, a panel discussion between real estate companies TFT, Stanhope, Grosvenor and Hydrock (now owned by Stantec). Between us, we represented a mix of experience using or trying out B Corp, and adapting our own standards to use alongside it.

We were joined by a mixed audience including investors, developers, architects, lawyers, consultant and occupier businesses. By a straw poll held at the start of our session, we found 40% of the 84-strong audience work in B Corps, while 30% had filled out B Corp assessments, and 10% use bespoke frameworks (alongside or instead of B Corp). 30% of our audience had no framework in place, yet.

Our session was chaired by the Estate Gazette’s Julia Cahill, who steered our panel to answer key challenges about corporate ESG, and wrote a great summary of our session in EG. Below are a selection of key quotes summarising our panel’s take on the issues.

Click here to read the full story on Estates Gazette: ‘Finding the best framework for sustainability’

Using B Corp: perfection vs progression

Nils Rage, Stanhope: ‘B Corp says that your business cares – it doesn’t say that you’re perfect. The biggest misconception is that B Corp means you’re ‘perfect’. It actually means that you try, and work hard at improving where you are.’ 

Mat Lown, TFT: ‘As a business which prides ourselves on independence and critical thinking about important issues – we needed an external, independent framework [B Corp] to measure our journey forwards.’ 

Eve Bellers, Grosvenor: ‘Grosvenor had already committed to our own ambitious sustainability targets. But we used the B Corp assessment to see what we were missing in our approach and what we should consider next.’ 

Sadaf Askari, Hydrock: ‘B Corp is good for corporate governance or strategy. But I would question if B Corp is a useful tool for those just starting out in ESG. If you’re just starting out, you should undertake your own exercise to understand your own business – if governance is something you need more support around, B Corp could be for you. But self analyse and start building a strategy first.’

What’s next? Ambitions for improvement

Sadaf Askari, Hydrock: ‘We talk a lot about carbon, but I would say that climate risk is now the biggest risk, not just in terms of physical risk but transitional risks as well. We need implementable plans to reduce these, where you can show that you know exactly what is causing the risks and how you will address them.’

Eve Bellers, Grosvenor: ‘Our collective thinking on social impact and social value needs to mature. Because one size doesn’t fit all, doing the right thing must begin with understanding the communities you serve.’

Mat Lown, TFT: ‘To improve buildings at pace, we need to move beyond a modelling-heavy approach to buildings. We need to make buildings better to meet our goals, and seeking a perfect outcome in all areas will only delay those positive impacts.’

Much like the sustainable building certifications and standards we work with every day, applying a corporate ESG strategy can be complex work. We need to deal with evolving parameters like carbon, social value, biodiversity and climate risk, which change over time. Sharing knowledge openly and acting on the latest, best information is critical to make progress.

As Asaf said in the session’s closing remarks: if you feel like your sustainability journey isn’t underway yet, you may feel like it’s time to get started!

Thank you to everyone who contributed to the evening, including our panel: TFT’s Mat Lown, Sadaf Askari from Hydrock, Eve Bellers of Grosvenor and Nils Rage of Stanhope PLC. The discussion was chaired brilliantly by Julia Cahill of Estates Gazette, with many excellent questions contributed by our audience. A special thank you to Helen Pickstock and the rest of the Coutts team who welcomed us at their offices.

Funding a more sustainable built environment: the Loan Market Association in conversation with TFT

The Loan Market Association (LMA) is the voice of the EMEA syndicated loan market, whose members include lenders, law firms, borrowers and regulators, many of whom fund commercial property developments and navigating the challenges of funding a more sustainable built environment.

As part of the LMA’s mission to share best practice and expert insight, Hannah Vanstone met with Mat Lown, TFT’s Chief Knowledge & ESG Officer, to discuss our industry’s progress in delivering a more sustainable built environment, and the ways in which lenders and investors can help to support that work.

In a new article for the LMA, Mat discusses:

  • How sustainability considerations impact developer decision-making
  • Widening adoption of circular construction approaches
  • The challenges and opportunities for retrofit works

All this and more can be found in the full interview, here.