Friends and neighbours plan for the future with office move
The new headquarters for PBS Construction and Aqua Shield.
A FAMILY construction firm is preparing to celebrate its 30th anniversary in a new home after completing the relocation of its head office in Hull.
PBS Construction Ltd has been joined from day one in the new premises by a neighbour-turned-tenant, Aqua Shield GB Limited, which already has ambitions to occupy the entire building.
Julian McCann, Managing Director of Aqua Shield plumbing and heating specialists, said: “We know PBS very well, we’ve watched them grow and we’re aware of their ambitions. We’re a few years behind them but I expect them to use this move as a stepping stone to a bigger site and when the time comes I want us to be ready to take this over.”
PBS was founded in 1988 and now employs more than 70 people. Current projects include tidal defence work at Paull, a regeneration scheme in Bridlington town centre and replacing stone setts in Ripon Market Place.
The company is also working on enlarging culverts as part of a flood protection scheme in Anlaby, near Hull, and on repairs to the old stone bridge at Gilling West, near Richmond. But Contracts Director Glenn Smurthwaite said they drew the line at modernising their own premises – a terrace of three houses close to Anlaby Road flyover.
He said: “We had been in there for 17 years and the office team had grown from four or five to about 10, the configuration of the space was not right for our current needs, parking was restricted and it would have been difficult to upgrade.”
The decision to move was sealed by Glenn driving past the offices just half a mile away in Trinity Street which had been vacated by IT@Spectrum. Glenn contacted Garness Jones chartered surveyors and was able to agree a deal quickly.
He said: “As we continue our expansion we need a place that reflects the status of our business and that is what we now have. The new premises are modern, with a nice reception area and plenty of parking. It’s a much nicer place for people to come to work.”
Julian, a good friend and close neighbour at the Anlaby Road premises, jumped at the chance to join PBS in the new building, taking half of the ground floor to kick-start the next phase of Aqua Shield’s development 10 years after launching the business.
He said: “The business started with me and a van and expanded when my wife Amanda and son Alex joined, and now we’re up to 25 people. We have grown year on year, particularly with our domestic services, and we needed a bigger office.
“Glenn and I had spoken about building somewhere to accommodate both businesses and then this came on the market. It’s perfect in terms of the layout and the location – a lot of people drive past here and it’s very visible.”
Paul White, Agency Director at Garness Jones, said: “Between them PBS and Aqua Shield have got more than 5,800 square feet of good quality office space which meets their priority of providing an enjoyable working environment for their staff.
“This is a feature of the market at the moment – more businesses recognise that better working conditions generally equate to greater productivity. It’s also a success story for three businesses. IT@Spectrum moved to a new-build at Bridgehead and that has created a great opportunity for PBS and Aqua Shield.”
