Team Fit Out

Recently, we interviewed our head of Fit Out, Chris Hildreth to gain some insight into the division and its rapid growth.

We know you have been in this industry for a while… How long have you been working for Group Metropolitan & where do you see GML heading in the upcoming years?

I joined GML in Feb 2017, 6 years already! We have a great Client base and healthy pipeline of work. If we continue to deliver great projects and build on the relationships I think we will continue to see steady growth but more important to us is doing the right type of work for the right Client base.

Can you tell us how it came to be that you are the Director of Fit Out & the path that led you here?

I joined to form the fit out department. In my previous Main Contractor role, we employed Metropolitan Electrical Services (As they were known) for project work.

They didn’t have a Fit Out department and I had close working relationship with many of the team including our MD (Rob Warner) for over 10 Years. I wanted a new challenge and approached Rob to see if there was any milage in exploring a small delivery stream, to support their already established Electrical & Mechanical teams.

The intention was to play a support role to the M&E teams with builders work and any small requests from Clients for minor fit-out works.

Almost immediately the demand from Client’s was huge and we quickly realised that offering a full turnkey solution that gives the customer the opportunity to use a single supplier to complete projects rather than multiple contractors was very attractive. I also had the experiences of delivering much bigger projects than what we initially set out to do.

In 2018 as part of Company restructure my title changed from Head Of Fit Out to Associate Director.

How have you found working at GML & what would you say are the top 3 things about working here?

For me I have seamlessly integrated into the role as it was very similar to what I was doing previously within the same / similar Client base.

Top 3 things for me

1. Culture - The company is very much for the employees and this is demonstrated in employee retention, benefits, EOT, flexibility, regular catch ups and apprentice engagement from the outset. In addition, opinions and ideas are listened to and where appropriate these ideas are adopted in some way or another.
2. People - We have quality people at all levels. Having the opportunity to work with these people driving the business forward raises the bar and our Clients often comment on how good they are. The people we have in the business are very much team players. You can WhatsApp the company emergency group at 20:00 on a Saturday night with a Client emergency and guarantee there would be loads of help and support available with people on site really quickly.
3. Quality – We try to achieve snag free quality projects. This is the mindset of people that starts with front end documentation and carries on throughout each project. The business has a great reputation by putting quality at the forefront of everything. We have formed solid relationships and repeat business with global organisations since late the early 90’s in some instances(If not before!). Anyone can deliver a project once, twice, three or ten times, but week after week, for 30 years with the same Clients is some going!

Being that the Fit Out Department is relatively young, what would you say has attributed to its exponential growth?

There have been a few different reasons:

1. Being able to offer a true turn key solution to the industry is a big plus. We are a Principal Contractor but, with in-house technical expertise in various disciplines, makes it a no brainer for the Client. It also saves mark up on subcontractors which is usually applied by traditional main contractors. We don’t have to apply any as we are all one team.
2. Our offering in passive fire protection has grown substantially. We have seen much bigger awareness in this area over the past few years and alongside IFC we have worked tirelessly to ensure that the quality of our workmanship and documentation is second to none. That sounds like a cliché but, honestly some of the firestopping that we have carried out in tight areas looks like a work of art!
3. Drive and determination – Rob Warner and Maurice Exall (Chairman) have given me the opportunity to be part of the business which they built up over many years. The fit-out department is very much at the forefront of a lot of what we do as a business, we of course make mistakes and learn lessons, but I think without the drive and determination to make the opportunity successful we wouldn’t have the repeat business, growth and Client base we have today.

Fit Out works are mainly based in and around London, however it seems you have been picking up more works elsewhere (Manchester, Leeds, Nottingham). How and why do you think this came to be? Back in late 2017 we were asked to pick up works for a Client in Cheshire. We resourced it from our London base. The Client had a fair pipeline for 2018 across various sites in the North and so the Northern department was formed. They have grown from strength to strength themselves, and the 2022 projects were mainly firestopping projects for a single Client whom we was working with in London. We felt that it made sense at the time that we were in a better position to lead these works rather than lean on our Northern team who had a near full order book at that time.

Can you give us an idea of the types of projects you have lined up for 2023?

We are finishing off some projects at Battersea Power Station where we have been fitting out their marketing suite and some retail units. We have a healthy pipeline that includes a Reception upgrade on Canary Wharf, a firestopping project for Student accommodation, a data centre fit out in West Ham and a couple of small fit out projects in the City.

Our Joinery workshop will be busy with manufacturing some small kitchen / breakout units for a Client in the West End.

In 2022 we saw the company rebrand as Group Metropolitan (formerly Metropolitan Electrical Services); can you tell us what influenced this decision?

For me, our department struggled to demonstrate to the industry our capabilities and our business overall. Metropolitan Electrical Services – The name is in the title. How can you get on a tender list or convince an unknown Client that you will deliver your project as a full turnkey provider or install walls, ceilings and flooring when you’re known as an electrical company? We had outgrown the name and needed a brand that represented the entire business. I think changing the name has most definitely done that and the feedback has been excellent.