Christmas always comes early for Nurture as we get busy installing indoor and outdoor Christmas trees for our clients up and down the country. This year, Christmas is bigger than ever at Nurture, with us installing at least double the number of Christmas trees compared to last year, and we have employed an extra 14 lorry drivers to help deliver the service. As the volume of work increases, the main challenge is to find enough good quality large trees. The first trees and decorations were installed on Saturday 11 November at the Radisson, Mayfair, in a major project involving hundreds of bespoke birch branches, one 16ft and two 12ft trees. At the Four Seasons, also in Mayfair, we will be installing a 35-ft tree outside in their garden, and a 20-ft interior tree which is decorated and installed twice in the season to ensure it stays fresh and looking its best. The bulk of the season’s work takes place from 1 December onwards, but we’ll continue to install Christmas trees for our hotel clients right up until Christmas Eve. A special thanks to our London, Northern and Midland teams, who manage and deliver the majority of this work. ISSUE 22 | DECEMBER 2017 Welcome As the season turns colder, our gritting teams are busy again keeping clients’ sites safe and open for business. With the introduction of our new ‘Ice Master’ system, we expect to undertake in excess of 50,000 visits this season – weather permitting. Our new employees from the Frost Landscape Maintenance and Botanical acquisitions are now well integrated into the Nurture family, and it was great having the opportunity to meet so many staff old and new during the recent series of regional staff roadshows. It provides a valuable opportunity for the management team to hear directly from our employees who are on our client’s sites day in day out. I was especially proud that we secured BALI’s Employer Excellence award for the second year running. In a bid to support sustainability and the community, we have decided not to post Christmas cards this year but to make a donation to a charity instead, so I would like to take this opportunity on behalf of Nurture to wish you all a very merry Christmas and a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year. Peter Fane Managing Director ‘Tis the Season ... Greg Basire, London Director, commented: “We have a tiny window to supply an enormous number of trees. We’re reaching further afield into Scotland and abroad to source the number of quality trees we need.” nurture news
Transcript
Christmas always comes early for Nurture as we get busy installing indoor and outdoor Christmas trees for our clients up and down the country.
This year, Christmas is bigger than ever at Nurture, with us installing at least double the number of Christmas trees compared to last year, and we have employed an extra 14 lorry drivers to help deliver the service. As the volume of work increases, the main challenge is to find enough good quality large trees.
The first trees and decorations were installed on Saturday 11 November at the Radisson, Mayfair, in a major project involving hundreds of
bespoke birch branches, one 16ft and two 12ft trees.
At the Four Seasons, also in Mayfair, we will be installing a 35-ft tree outside in their garden, and a 20-ft interior tree which is decorated and installed twice in the season to ensure it stays fresh and looking its best.
The bulk of the season’s work takes place from 1 December onwards, but we’ll continue to install Christmas trees for our hotel clients right up until Christmas Eve.
A special thanks to our London, Northern and Midland teams, who manage and deliver the majority of this work.
ISSUE 22 | DECEMBER 2017
WelcomeAs the season turns colder, our gritting teams are busy again keeping clients’ sites safe and open for business. With the introduction of our new ‘Ice Master’ system, we expect to undertake in excess of 50,000 visits this season – weather permitting.
Our new employees from the Frost Landscape Maintenance and Botanical acquisitions are now well integrated into the Nurture family, and it was great having the opportunity to meet so many staff old and new during the recent series of regional staff roadshows. It provides a valuable opportunity for the management team to hear directly from our employees who are on our client’s sites day in day out. I was especially proud that we secured BALI’s Employer Excellence award for the second year running.
In a bid to support sustainability and the community, we have decided not to post Christmas cards this year but to make a donation to a charity instead, so I would like to take this opportunity on behalf of Nurture to wish you all a very merry Christmas and a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year.
Peter Fane Managing Director
‘Tis the Season...
Greg Basire, London Director, commented:
“We have a tiny window to supply an enormous number of trees. We’re reaching further afield into Scotland and abroad to source the number of quality trees we need.”
nurturenews
02 | ISSUE 22 | DECEMBER 2017 www.nurturelandscapes.co.uk
It was a great privilege for Nurture to be invited to create a float for the annual Lord Mayor’s show this year, which has celebrated the inauguration of the new Lord Mayor of London for the past 800 years.
Nurture volunteers transformed one of our transport lorries into a repainted, branded, innovative ‘moving garden’ float, complete with lawns, flowers, foliage and beehive, as well as two onsite florists! The float was designed by our very own Nurture Director, Greg Basire.
A happy team of nine Nurture staff accompanied our float along the three-mile long procession from the Mansion House.
Our brilliant floristry team Lisa and Kelly, created stunning bouquets on the move as the float paraded from the
Nurture in the limelight at
LORD MAYOR’S SHOWCity to Westminster. Members of the crowd were thrilled to receive complimentary bouquets and Greg Basire was given the opportunity to speak live on television about greening the city and the benefits of improving biodiversity in harsh environments.
Peter Fane, MD Nurture, commented:
“We were delighted to support the new Lord Mayor, Charles Bowman and his chosen charities, Samaritans, OnSide Youth Zones and Place2Be as part of the Lord Mayor’s Show. I was fortunate enough to be able to watch the procession from the balcony and it was very exciting to see Nurture’s float pass by, and even more exciting to watch us on TV when I got home.”
Usually it’s our clients collecting Green Apple awards at the Houses of Parliament, but this year it was our turn. We were delighted to receive two Green Apple awards this year!
In each category there are bronze, silver, gold and best in category awards, and a Champion of Champions award presented by Claire Perry MP (Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy).
Robin Sergi, Nurture Contracts Manager, entered Howbery Business Park in the category for ‘Property and Estate Management, Habitat and Diversity’, and Nurture HQ entered the category for ‘Service Industries Conservation & Wildlife’ for installing
and maintaining bee hives on client’s sites.
Both received Green Apple awards and were ‘Gold in their categories’. Nurture employees Paul Ellis, John Beavan and Simon Blackley collected the awards at the Houses of Parliament. Nurture has always championed sustainability, so it was great to be rewarded and recognised for the work we do.
Nurture was the only grounds maintenance company to win an award this year but a number of our clients including CBRE, JLL and MJ Mapp were also award winners for building management. We plan to enter more categories next year.
Greg Basire, Nurture Director, commented:
“I wanted the float to showcase as many of the fantastic services we offer here at Nurture, as well as highlighting the importance of sustainability. We have such good team spirit across the different facets of the company and that was clearly reflected in the effort put in by all to create such a beautiful float.”
Simon Blackley (left), Paul Ellis (centre), & John Beavan (right)
ISSUE 22 | DECEMBER 2017 | 03www.nurturelandscapes.co.uk
Liverpool ONE Shopping Centre
NEW STAFF JOIN THE
Nurture Landscapes has welcomed two new businesses into the Nurture family this year: Botanical and Frost Landscape Maintenance, who both fit beautifully into our core values and mission.
Botanical has been a family business for 25 years, based 5 miles away from our depot in Blackburn. The business is focused on landscape maintenance, winter gritting, interior plants and Christmas trees, so their profile of work was a perfect fit for Nurture.
Gary Collinson, who launched Botanical, continued as a consultant for six months to ensure the transition period was smooth for our clients. The service delivery teams on the ground have also remained the same, to ensure continuity. We’re particularly excited about taking on top client, Liverpool ONE Shopping Centre, who have been winners of the prestigious Green Flag Award for the last four years.
“We’re delighted to take over the family business that Gary Collinson has built with such care and attention for over 25 years. The wonderful team has knitted in to our local family,” says Nick Hills, Nurture Regional Director.
Frost Landscapes Maintenance is another family affair, boasting an enviable reputation for their six well-known garden centres as well as their landscape construction
and maintenance arm. The business, which started in 1946, is now run by the third generation of the Frost family. A major redevelopment at their head office site at Woburn Sands meant the family wanted to sell the landscape maintenance part of their operation, which focuses on landscape maintenance, interior plants and Christmas trees. It is a privilege to take on such a quality operation with a good local reputation. The business perfectly slots into our Midlands, South and London regions.
Peter Fane, Nurture MD, commented:
“I’ve known James Frost for many years. Their profile suited us incredibly well. We’re delighted to welcome 80 staff to our team. It feels like they are handing the baton from one family business to another.”
04 | ISSUE 22 | DECEMBER 2017 www.nurturelandscapes.co.uk
Congratulations to all our worthy winners for going above and beyond!
A huge thank you from the Nurture management team!
Anna Michta (right) South West Team with Director Jon Fraser (left)
Anthony Bowman (right) Scotland Team with Director Pete Stubbs (left)
LONDON TEAM (left to right), Paul Bean Director, Aldo Robertson, Pete D’Cruz, Steve Matthews, Dave Meyer, Terry Dickinson with Manager Bruce Quigley
Amanda Waters Midlands Team Kamil Pieta (left) South Team with Manager Tom Glancy (right)
LIVERPOOL ONE TEAM (left to right), Nick Hills Director, Gary Lucock, Mike McIntyre & Paul Stubbs
Kevin Stevens (right) South Workshop with Director Joel Woolrich (left)
Jack Dabrowski (right) London Team with Deputy Managing Director Paul Bean (left)
SCOTLAND TEAM for Link Housing & Trust Housing (left to right) Colin King, Bobby Zaisliuk, Alex Lyle, Pete Stubbs Director, Stevie Waters, Kyle McDonald
ISSUE 22 | DECEMBER 2017 | 05www.nurturelandscapes.co.uk
When is a coffee morning not a coffee morning? When it’s a lunch and raffle and raises a whopping £500 for Macmillan Cancer Support!
Congratulations to the staff at Nursery Court, who each donated a dish and a raffle prize, then paid per plate when it came to lunchtime. A veritable feast was enjoyed by all!
Thank you to everyone for your generous donations.
A special huge thank you to our lovely Gemma (Ball) who organised the event and made sure everything ran like clockwork; none of this could have happened without her!
Lunch raises funds for Macmillan
Staff at Infineum carved their own home-grown pumpkins in a workshop run
by Nurture’s Robin Sergi. The pumpkins were grown onsite in Infineum’s allotments.
The Nurture team prepped them and provided stencils, LED lights and carving
equipment. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the workshop and thanked Nurture for
bringing so much fun to their site.
Gareth Liggins (left) Stockley Park with Manager Jan Vanuck (right)
Ben Nash (right) Howbery Business Park with Manager Robin Sergi (left)
Scott Mackie (right) South Team with Manager Rob Taylor (left)
Brian Howes (right) Infineum Site with Manager Robin Sergi (left)
Peter Higgs (right) Howbery Business Park with Manager Robin Sergi (left)
Dan Brown (centre) Rhinefield House being presented his award from client Jon Hale (right) & Manager Robin Sergi (left) CREATIVE
CARVING
Best Sustainable Enterprise ProjectCongratulations to the winners of the 2017 Nurture Business Plan Prize: Emma Laden, Kim Mahoney, Daniel Shillabeer and Eloise Eaton, who all celebrated with their families and cohorts as they received their prizes at Bristol Cathedral in July. The prize was created in 2012 by Peter Fane, MD of Nurture Landscapes and UWE Bristol Alumnus. It is awarded based on best overall marks for the final year Enterprise Project in one of four categories.
“The funds have helped hugely and also gave me a huge boost of confidence which encouraged me to continue my business plan. Thank you ever so much.”
06 | ISSUE 22 | DECEMBER 2017 www.nurturelandscapes.co.uk
When the gritting season begins on 1 November each year, no-one knows what lies ahead. What will the weather do? Will the jet stream give us months of freezing air, falling snow and fast-paced activations? Whatever happens, Nurture is always ready.
This year sees the roll-out of a new, purpose-built CRM system, Ice Master. It’s Nurture’s first cradle-to-grave system, taking care of the details from the first point of sale, service activations, right through to invoicing.
Designed in-house, it’s a complex system that caters for each client’s specific requirements. We’re proud to say we’ve been able to accommodate every client request so far. The system is our most advanced yet, offering an automated process for sending emails to clients, regions and operators and recording completion of each job. For the first time, it gives us traceability through every step of the gritting process, and clients the ability to monitor our service in real time through our web portal.
The selling season is still live and we have an ambitious growth target for 2017 with a 25% increase on last year, which our sales team are busy fulfilling!
A touch of frost
Nik Tozer, National Gritting Manager, commented:
“The whole gritting team has been exceptionally busy throughout the summer months designing and implementing the new CRM system and sowing the seeds for new wins. The hard work and commitment by all involved has pushed Nurture’s gritting division to the forefront of the industry as one of the top national gritting providers in the UK.”
In the shadow of Bournemouth pier, Nurture’s South West team took to the water for the 2017 Long Board Channel Coast Log Jam. Rob Sergi and Dan Brown were amongst 15 other surfers who paddled out during near-perfect classic small waves on the morning of 23rd September. Even the sun made an appearance.
Dan Brown, who looks after the grounds at Rhinefield House Hotel in
CHANNEL COAST LOG JAMthe New Forest, is a seasoned surfer having spent almost four decades on many types of board. All the moves were there: walking the board, hang 5, Hang 10, drop knee turns, cut backs and even shooting the pier.
Dan and his brother Ben picked up the ‘Passenger’ clothing prize for tandem riding one board. Not an easy thing to do on a moving 9’9” log. Well done Dan! We were delighted that
Howbery Park won Business Park of the Year at the Thames Valley Property Awards.
The Award celebrates developers, owners or management teams who can market their business park through new initiatives, high occupancy and consistent positive feedback from tenants; judges look for a clear demonstration of success in all these areas – so winning the award is a hearty endorsement of all the hard work done by the team at Howbery Park!
HOWBERY PARK named Business Park of the Year
Robin Sergi (center left) & Dan Brown (center right)
ISSUE 22 | DECEMBER 2017 | 07www.nurturelandscapes.co.uk
As the busy spring summer season ends and the autumn winter one begins, it’s time once again for our annual roadshows.
The Nurture senior team have been on the road meeting over 410 staff in a series of staff roadshows across the country. Nurture’s work across the UK is split into seven areas for the purpose of the roadshows: Scotland, North, Midlands, South West, South, London and West London.
Each of the roadshows have a 2-hour presentation which opens with a business update from Pete Fane, MD; reminding staff of our core values and mission statement, introducing new acquisitions or other opportunities for growth, and offering a snapshot of how we’re delivering our services.
It’s then over to Deputy MD, Paul Bean for a session on ‘housekeeping’, reviewing the processes and systems we use, as well as highlighting green initiatives and providing feedback on the annual employee survey.
Robin Jackson, Health and Safety Officer, then talks through training plans for health and safety so that all staff know what is available to them.
Each regional director then has a chance to focus on local news in a more light-hearted and interactive session. They’ll highlight what’s been happening in their regions over the last 12 months, reporting back on any awards won, new contracts within the region, before looking at plans for the future.
Paul Bean, Deputy MD, commented:
“This is our only chance to interact with all the staff together in a region. It’s also an exciting opportunity to share our successes and for the senior management team to say thank you in person for all the hard work of our valuable staff at Nurture.”
Tasting honey from hives at your workplace is a unique experience for any employee. It’s even more exciting if you’ve helped to harvest it yourself, which is what some employees on our clients’ sites have had the opportunity to do.
In the past, the honey has been taken off site to be extracted, placed in jars and labelled ready for sale, but for the first time this year, staff members have been trained to extract the honey themselves.
Our popular beekeeping initiative has expanded this year, with ten new sites being added, giving a total of 50 hives across the country.
We hope that you enjoyed this newsletter and discovered something new about Nurture. If you want to know more about us, or have any news you would like to share, we would love to hear from you.
John Beavan, Training Manager at Nurture and passionate beekeeper, commented:
“There’s an environmental benefit, a CSR benefit, and it is incredible value for money. I’d say 99% of companies give their profits to charity too.”
Caring for plants can help care for the mind, especially for adults with enduring mental illness. That’s why Nurture is pleased to support local business Chestnut Nursery as a supplier to provide planting and bedding stock for our clients in the south west region.
Chestnut Nursery is a registered charity providing meaningful work for adults with mental illness through the therapy of horticulture. Their aim is to restore mental well-being in a supportive and pressure-free environment.
Chestnut Nursery is open to the public seven days a week, where they grow and sell a wide variety of perennials, herbs, shrubs, trees, ornamental grasses, compost, manure and seasonal bedding. They also specialise in exotics and southern hemisphere plants for coastal and sandy soil gardens – www.chestnutnursery.org.uk
Healing power of plants
KICKING FOR KILMARNOCKNurture is sponsoring midfielder Linzi Taylor, of Kilmarnock Ladies Football Club. It’s clearly going well as they won the league this season and gained promotion. “I’ve followed the progress of Manchester City’s women’s football team over the last few years. I can see the importance of supporting a local women’s football team and helping to promote the game.” says Pete Stubbs.
David Howie, of FC Kilmarnock Ladies, agrees. “We’d like to thank Peter and Nurture for their sponsorship and we hope this partnership will flourish,” he says.
