One of the largest specialist access companies is today celebrating the news that it has won the Queen’s Award for Enterprise – the highest royal accolade for success in business. The formal announcement was issued today from Her Majesty the Queen’s office to mark her 94th birthday.
Brogan Group, a specialist access contractor to the construction industry, operates in the UK, Ireland, UAE and Saudi Arabia and employs over 700 staff. The company has today joined an exclusive group by winning Britain’s most coveted royal business prize for its significant growth in international trade. Brogan Group is one of a few specialist access companies to win a Queen’s Award for Enterprise and one of only 128 companies this year to win an award in the International Trade category.
The esteemed award recognises the company’s significant performance in international trade and the contribution of that performance to the company’s impressive growth. During the period 2016-2018, the company experienced a staggering 158% international growth spurt, and by 2018, 37% of Brogan Group sales came from overseas markets. Innovation powers the ongoing success of the company, which, by 2023, expects to see international sales account for almost 50% of the Group’s total activity.
More recently, the company has secured a number of prestigious contracts to help build part of the World Expo, the largest construction project in the UAE. It has also commenced work on the UK’s largest regeneration project since the London 2012 Olympic Games (Old Oak in North Acton). It is currently working on the largest construction project in Europe at Battersea Power Station, where the company has supplied 70 construction hoists, four common towers, scaffolding and mast climbers across the first three phases of the development.
Brogan Group has always been an early adopter of new technology and pioneering methods. It was one of the first companies in the UK to switch to system scaffold and to invest heavily in powered access, both of which created time and cost-effective alternatives to traditional scaffolding access, along with infinite possibilities for the evolving world of construction and faster, safer builds.
In 2018, the company added to the range of services offered, with the introduction of the common user tower. One of only a few access contractors in the capital that designs, hires and installs common towers, Brogan Group’s first project saw the erection of 54 landings, reaching 181 metres, to assist the construction of the landmark Madison Tower in Canary Wharf. The common tower was complimented with the Colossus hoist, one of the largest of its kind in the UK. The company’s innovative safety methods for work at height, first implemented on this project, also led to its practices being adopted as standard practice across all of the main contractors’ sites. These methods were also recognised by Construction News where the company was shortlisted as Specialist Awards 2019 Finalist in the Innovations category. The company has since added another access solution to its bow – 2019 saw the launch of construction access cradles in the UAE.
The Queen’s Award tops a plethora of industry accreditations for the company, including The Sunday Times HSBC International Track 200 in 2019 and 2020, Finalist in the 2019 Construction News Access & Scaffolding Specialist of the Year category, and Balfour Beatty’s 2019 Safety Award. Brogan Group’s attitude to safety, expertise and precision is also passed on to trainees via the company’s own dedicated training centre in North London, where it offers fully accredited construction courses.
The company is renowned not only for its safety record but also for its specialist expertise in unusual or complex access solutions. Along with many large-scale construction schemes, it has been consulted on some very unusual access projects, such as supporting the iconic Ha’penny Bridge over the river Liffey in Dublin during its extensive renovation in 2001, the construction of the elliptical shaped Cocoon wing at the Natural History Museum, renovation of a 15th century castle in Ireland and Europe’s highest park – Sky Gardens and viewing deck – at the peak of the Walkie Talkie tower on Fenchurch Street. The Sky Garden was a particularly notable feat of engineering and expertise due to the incline of the top of the building and the garden’s shape that ‘looms out’ over its base. The garden’s specialist roof Fin structure required extensive support scaffold structures to be built overlooking the Thames some 150m above the ground level.
More innovations were deployed on the milestone project ‘Capital Gate’. The world’s most inverted building, located in Abu Dhabi. Capital Gate is known locally as the Leaning Tower of Abu Dhabi. It is a skyscraper that is over 160 metres tall and 35 stories high. Nicknamed ‘The Splash’, and designed to incline 18° to the west, the structure presented a significant challenge to the Brogan team, which was contracted to install bespoke cladding to the exterior. The effects of gravitational pull, wind and seismic pressures were all studied to enable UK design teams to create a ground-breaking prototype, which was implemented with the support of local technical experts.Wayne Smith, Brogan Group Director announced, “Naturally, we are delighted to have been recognised with the Queen’s Award for Enterprise. Kudos to our international teams, which have all contributed to both our success and our position as the market leader. Brogan Group is proof that whilst innovation drives success, it is a company’s principles that will ensure sustainable growth. Brogan Group places huge value on its staff’s training and safety, which bolsters our reputation for excellence.”
The company’s entry for the Queen’s Award was personally supported by the Rt. Hon. Grant Shapps, MP (Secretary of State for Transport).
Now in its 55th year, the Queen’s Awards for Enterprise include a remarkable and impressive alumni of previous winners e.g. J.P Morgan, iCandy, Veolia and Willmott Dixon.
The next ceremonial steps for the company include coverage in a special edition of the London Gazette, published in April, which will carry the names of all 220 winners. The London Gazette is the oldest English newspaper and is an official journal of record of the British Government. A Grant of Appointment ceremony will take place at Brogan’s headquarters later this year with the County’s Lord Lieutenant and local VIPs. The Lord Lieutenant is Her Majesty The Queen’s local representative and will present the Brogan team with a crystal trophy and the Grant of Appointment (personally signed by Her Majesty The Queen).
Following the Grant of Appointment ceremony, Brogan’s Directors will visit Buckingham Palace for a celebratory reception, which is usually hosted by HRH Prince Charles.
