Restoring and beautifying London's most prestigious homes with love for almost 100 years.




Thursday 27 June 2013

Top Safety Accreditation for Bastows




We are delighted to announce that Bastows has again been awarded accreditation from safecontractor for its continuing commitment to achieving excellence in health and safety.

safecontractor is a leading third party accreditation scheme which recognises very high standards in health and safety management amongst UK contractors.

Our original application for safecontractor accreditation in 2008 was driven by the need for a uniform standard across the business, and we have found the standard a great benchmark for our safety performance and strategy.

safecontractor accreditation will enhance our ability to attract new contracts and our strong commitment to safety is viewed positively by its insurers when the company liability policy is up for renewal. 

John Kinge, technical director of safecontractor said, "Major organisations simply cannot afford to run the risk of employing contractors who are not able to prove that they have sound health and safety policies in place."

"More companies need to understand the importance of adopting good risk management in the way that Bastows have done. The firm’s high standard has set an example which hopefully will be followed by other companies within the sector.

safecontractor plays a vital role in supporting our clients in meeting their compliance needs, whilst working with their contractors as they progress through the accreditation process.”

Under the safecontractor scheme, businesses undergo a vetting process which examines health and safety procedures and their track record for safe practice. Those companies meeting the high standard are included on a database, which is accessible to registered users only via a website.

Client-organisations who sign up to the scheme can access the database, enabling them to vet potential contractors before they even set foot on site. These clients agree that, as users of the scheme, they will engage only those who have received accreditation.

Over one hundred and seventy major nation-wide businesses, from several key sectors, have signed up to use the scheme when selecting contractors for services such as building, cleaning, maintenance, refurbishment or electrical and mechanical work.

Bastows are proud to be one of them.

Tuesday 18 June 2013

Family Business of the Year - an update

Last week our Sales Director Dave Brown went along to the Family Business United awards, where we were shortlisted for their Family Business of the Year award for London & the South East.   

We are delighted to announce that amongst household names, we placed second as a result of the online vote and judges' decision combined. We were proud to be runner up to the long-established family firm CPJ Field, who were very deserving winners!

A big thank you to you if you voted for us, to Paul and the Family Business United team for a great event, and to our fellow nominees for being so committed to promoting the strength in family businesses around the UK.

Lastly, the biggest thanks to our people- without your efforts and commitment to Bastows, we couldn't achieve such accolades. 

Next, we are at the Family Business Place awards on 5 July where we are nominated for their national Family Business of the Year as well as their 'Customer First' awards. 

Keep everything crossed for us!

Tuesday 11 June 2013

Generation Game

The week has started well, and so far it seems to be all about the next generation.

Yesterday we secured our first candiate for work experience through the Construction Youth Trust (huge thanks to Karen there for all her help) and we are excited to welcome him to the Cundy Street site net Monday for two weeks. We have insisted on paying a wage- what's work experience worth without the pleasure of earning something for it? 

We are looking forward to helping him find his feet in the industry and develop new skills that will help him build a career. All being well, we will introduce him to you next week on this page!

Today we've had another chance to support our friends at the Leatherhead Youth Project with their efforts to get outdoor equipment together for young people taking part in the Duke of Edinburgh's Awards Scheme. We've been able to help by providing them with sleeping bags, gas lanterns, torches and roll mats. They still need more kit though, including tents and rucksacks, so if you can help in any way, please get in touch with Lucy at LYP or you can donate here

Bastows are proud to believe in the next generation, and to support young people as they find their way in the world. We all needed help to get going once upon a time, and we are just repaying what we borrowed.

We are all here to make the World a better place, and we never forget that we are here to Make London Beautiful for everyone we meet.

SPIRIT of summer!

Get in the summer SPIRIT: Who's coming on a picnic?

New edition of SPIRIT out now... packed with info and updates from all our sites.

Catch up on the latest news and views and celebrate the sunshine!