Leading the development and construction teams at GRE Assets, Philip’s role has developed over the past 18 months to take on a more hands on approach. He also now spends time supporting on projects in Spain.
In this interview with Philip, we find out more about his role and what he enjoys about it, as well as getting his thoughts on the lasting impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the construction industry.
What is your role at GRE Assets and what does a typical day look like?
As Non-Executive Construction Director, I provide support, advice and leadership to the development and construction teams working on GRE Assets’ live projects. I also develop the strategy for delivering the future development pipeline. Monitoring the progress of projects – according to time, quality and cost – is another fundamental part of my role.
There isn’t really a typical day at GRE Assets, but it usually involves working with my team to drive a culture of quality and excellence. I also spend a lot of time facilitating the collaboration between our team and external stakeholders, including the local authorities that we are working with to deliver regeneration. It’s also really important to keep the board updated on the progress of each live project.
What do you enjoy most about your role?
I believe the best way to deliver a project is through good teamwork and collaboration alongside good planning and disciplined reporting. This forms a large focus of my role at GRE Assets and I really enjoy working in this way. It’s also been great to build a team to deliver the growing pipeline of developments to the highest standard.
It’s also extremely enjoyable working with our talented Spanish team. Between us we blend the best parts of the industry from Spain and the UK.
How have GRE Assets’ projects been affected by the coronavirus pandemic and how do you think it will have a lasting impact on the construction industry as a whole?
Understandably like the wider construction industry, our projects have been affected by Covid-19. The biggest way has been in terms of output, due to a reduction in labour and supply chain issues. As restrictions have begun to ease, things onsite are beginning to progress well, but we are still mindful of maintaining socially distant systems of work to keep our team safe.
One positive thing to take away is that due to our geographic spread as a company, we were already well-equipped to staying connected remotely, so in many ways we were set up to cope with the situation.
In terms of the lasting impact on the industry, I believe there will be an expectation to account for the possibility of pandemics when writing contracts, so that we are more prepared. I have also long been an advocate for the use of technology to support collaboration within the industry so hopefully some of these new processes and practices adopted during lockdown will be maintained to improve the way we work.
GRE Assets is a property investment company with major residential schemes in the UK and Spain.
