John Longford' financial advisor at Northern Spire Limited' sits down with client and partnership director at RE:GEN Group' Brinsley Sheridan' to discuss how he went from playing football for Bradford City to establishing a leading North East social housing regeneration company
Northern Spire Limited’ a senior partner practice of St James’s Place Wealth Management’ provides a wide range of services for clients’ such as RE:GEN’ that are looking to build’ grow’ protect or preserve wealth.
JL: At Northern Spire’ we want to really get to know our clients and develop relationships that provide them with long-term benefits. So’ can you tell us something about you that might surprise us?
BS: I dreamt of becoming a professional footballer when I was younger and played for Sunderland Academy up to the age of 15. Then’ I moved down to Bradford and signed to play for Bradford City’ staying for four years’ signing professional terms at 17. I was conscious it may not be a realistic long-term career and undertook work experience at Frank Haslam Milan Ltd prior to my move to Bradford. RE:GEN CEO’ Lee Francis’ was commercial manager at the time and he gave me £20 for my two weeks work and told me if football didn’t work out’ I should give him a call. I was released at Bradford City four years later’ made the call’ and two weeks later I started with the company and never looked back!
JL: RE:GEN is only in its second year and yet you have an impressive list of clients under your belt. Can you tell us about some of the work you are currently undertaking?
BS: We are currently working on a number of significant contracts. Most recently’ we have been awarded a £4 million contract by Gentoo housing association’ to carry out a series of external improvement works throughout its properties in the Sunderland area’ over the course of a four-year framework. Works’ entail a range of long-term cost saving improvements and long-life modernisation to homes’ including the renewal of porches’ canopies’ paths and external boundaries. We also have a scheme with Karbon homes’ a £3.5m external refurbishment project carrying out re-roofing’ external brickwork repairs and fencing across numerous areas including Chester-le-Street and Morpeth.
JL: The company has recently launched a training academy in line with growth and future expansion plans. Can you tell us why you decided to take this step now?
BS: As we continue to expand’ we will not do so at the expense of quality. We have taken the proactive step of putting in place a training programme to ensure we continue to provide best-in-class solutions to social housing. Via the academy’ which launched in August’ candidates will be encouraged to look at a number of areas including quantity surveying’ health and safety’ sustainability’ site and project management and customer experience. Once candidates decide which area they are most interested in’ we will design a bespoke development programme for them’ inclusive of any required training courses.
I also must add’ we have an apprenticeship programme I am extremely passionate about. Both Lee Francis and I’ earned our stripes via this route and I would encourage anyone looking for entry in to the blue-collar side of construction to look at our apprentice trade options which include joinery’ bricklaying and plastering.
JL: You were recently nominated for a Generation4Change Future Leader award. It’s an outstanding achievement’ but do you view it as your biggest one to date?
BS: I am humbled to receive a nomination for such a highly-esteemed award. It stands for what we have achieved as a team and I thank everyone who has been part of my personal development journey to date. The future has to be a sustainable one if we are to reach Net-Zero 2050 and as a company we have set in place a plan to become carbon neutral by 2025. We’re currently upgrading our own energy efficiency and installing solar panels’ we work with local waste companies and will have an entirely green fleet by 2025. The academy exists’ in part’ to continue to develop our future sustainability leaders of tomorrow and is one of the company’s proudest achievements to date.
JL: It’s certainly an exciting time for RE:GEN and I look forward to watching the company go from strength-to-strength in coming years.
BS: We have big plans for the future and it is reassuring to know that as we grow’ we have expert advice from Northern Spire. Growth’ whilst exciting’ also comes with risks. It is important that we have trusted support to keep these risks as low as possible’ whilst also identifying the greatest opportunities. We have many exciting projects that we are soon to announce and through them’ we look forward to playing our role in creating sustainable change.
