Trio of new businesses launched by established property group

Leeds and Manchester-based property company Bruntwood is expanding its service offering with the launch of three new businesses – Unify, Unify Energy and CubicWorks.

Unify will provide fully integrated facilities management encompassing mechanical and electrical repairs and maintenance, energy, cleaning and specialist cleaning.

It has already secured 30 new contracts, and enters its first full financial year with an £8m contract value order book, as it seeks growth among occupiers of commercial office and public sector buildings, national retailers and the industrial and logistics industries, alongside Bruntwood’s 2,600 customers.

Unify employs 350 people, 250 of which have transferred into Bruntwood from existing FM suppliers. Bruntwood’s chief operating officer, Richard Burgess, will assume the role of chief executive of Unify.

Unify Energy will offer energy as a managed service and sub-metering to Bruntwood customers and to other building landlords and property agents.

It will offer an alternative model to the single meter system typical to multi-tenanted buildings where landlords and agents have to split energy bills with occupiers based on square footage.

Instead Unify Energy, as a fully licensed supplier, can provide metered energy bills directly to each occupier giving customers and landlords a more accurate and compliant managed energy service.

Sarah Martin, currently director of Utilities at Bruntwood, has been appointed CEO of Unify Energy.

CubicWorks aims to be different to the average construction refurbishment and fit-out company, acting more as a construction partner than a contractor.

The firm has already been appointed by developer Bywater Properties to refurbish its £2m Northstar office scheme in Manchester’s Northern Quarter and will also become a supplier to Bruntwood Works and Bruntwood SciTech.

More than 50 employees from Bruntwood’s project contracting team have transferred into CubicWorks. A team of directors – Shan Khambata, Mark Spavin, and Mark Wright – will lead the new business.

1,000 people are now employed across the Bruntwood group of companies, which were recently accredited as a Living Wage Foundation employer.

Chris Oglesby, Group CEO, said: “We’re excited about these three disruptive new ventures and their potential to shake-up the provision of FM and contracting services right across the UK.

“Organisations of all shapes and sizes expect more from their property than ever before and we know what it takes to deliver not just excellent spaces, but excellent experiences and services within them.

“So for us, Unify and CubicWorks are very much a part of our on-going evolution as a group.

“We’re especially proud of what Unify represents in that it will provide those working in cleaning services the chance to shape their career at an ethical and responsible business, allowing them to thrive through access to support and development opportunities while earning a fair wage.”

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