7 minute read
BCC Cleans Up With Hubflow
EyeonProfessional Services
Belfast Cleaning Company, the fastgrowing local specialist cleaning firm planning a major expansion into the GB marketplace, is extending its services to Hubflow, the flexible working space company with centres in Belfast & London.
BCC already supplies professional cleaning and management services to the Hubflow.com co-working spaces on Belfast’s Dublin Road and two centres in Adelaide Street. Now, it’s extending its reach to cover Hubflow’s busy base at Buckingham Palace Road in London’s Victoria, over 3,000 sq.ft of space occupied by Hubflow clients.
“We’ve worked hard to build up a lot of experience in the office cleaning, maintenance and management sectors here in Belfast and around Northern Ireland,” says Stuart Carlisle, Belfast Cleaning Company’s Managing Director. “The next logical step forward for us is to expand into bigger markets. Gary McCausland, Declan Mellon and the team at Hubflow recommended that we take a look at London, and that’s what we’re doing.
“But we don’t want to stop there. We’d like to extend our range to other major cities like Dublin, Manchester, Birmingham and Glasgow.”
BCC provides a bespoke cleaning and maintenance service at Hubflow’s Dublin Road base, one of the new developments in the city helping to change how we work and will work going forward.
“We’re a flexible working business with several hundred members and counting, and we also provide private offices, meeting rooms and event space, all in an ultra modern, vibrant and work friendly environment,” says Gary McCausland, entrepreneur, property developer and CEO of the Richland Group as well as Hubflow.
Members can sign up for the Belfast centres to use from one to five days a week at competitive rates starting at £49.50 per month for a hot desk As has been well documented, it’s a style of working that’s been growing rapidly since the Covid pandemic.
“We have to offer the best quality working space, we have to offer professional services, superfast wi-fi and a range of other facilities like Barista coffee machines and kitchen areas,” adds Hubflow’s General Manager, Declan Mallon. “But we have to all of that at the best possible cost to our members.
“But, if we’re going to offer a truly professional service and a really great workplace, it has to be well presented and it has to be clean. That’s where Stuart and the team at Belfast Cleaning Company come in. We rely on them to make sure that our workplaces are spotless ...all the time. So they’ve become trusted partners and an important part of what we do behind the scenes for our members, and our future members.”
Hubflow is a fast-expanding concept. Gary McCausland and his team are currently working hard to identify new sites across London. A centre in Holborn opens shortly and others in Paddington and Waterloo should follow soon.
“We’re confident that we will soon be opening three or four new centres across London, one in Dublin and another two or three here in Belfast,” says Gary McCausland. “There’s no doubt in our minds that the demand is there in the post-Covid working environment. Co-working centres and flexible spaces are definitely here to stay.
“Our vision beyond that is to be a global company and a global brand name within five to 10 years.”
Stuart Carlisle, a Belfast-based entrepreneur who has worked in a number of sectors over the years, is keen to continue working with Hubflow at it new London bases. “But Hubflow isn’t our only customer,” he smiles. “We’re working with a growing number of companies here in Northern Ireland on commercial cleaning contracts, and we also offer specialist cleaning services to the domestic marketplace.
“What’s crucial to our business, and the growth of our business, is maintain consistently high standards. That comes down to having the right people and having the right training and procedures in place,” he says. “We know that we’re only as good as our last job. And, when that job is cleaning, expectations tend to be high.”
His company enhanced its reputation during the later stages of the pandemic. As workplaces tentatively swung back into action, BCC teams were called upon to conduct regular deep cleans and fogging/sanitisation for a wide range of customers.
“Covid added a whole new dimension,” says Stuart. “Suddenly, what we were doing became even more important and it’s remained important as we move into the post-Covid era.
“We work in partnership with Hubflow and we work in partnership with all of our customers. We listen to what they tell us and we also listen to what our people are telling us. We’ve been fortunate to be able to grow organically over the past number of years, and we’re excited about what the future holds....both here in Northern Ireland and elsewhere.”
EyeonNews
The Royal Ulster Academy of Arts (RUA) is celebrating a 15-year partnership with KPMG as it opens the doors to its Annual Exhibition 2022.
Once again held in the Ulster Museum, the 141st year of the exhibition sees it move to the largest gallery in the museum and accommodates a host of work across a variety of mediums including painting, drawing, print, sculpture, photography and video.
The milestone sponsorship from KPMG marks a two-way partnership which has been hugely beneficial for both organisations. As well as being the main sponsor, the professional services firm also sponsors the KPMG Young Artist Award. This year’s winner, chosen by KPMG staff, was by recent Ulster University graduate Oisin McDonnell for ‘Eternity in an Hour’.
Johnny Hanna, Partner in Charge of KPMG in Northern Ireland, said: “The RUA Annual Exhibition is a highlight in the KPMG calendar, particularly so this year as we celebrate 15 years working together. We are immensely proud of a partnership which has proved so worthwhile for us as a firm and again shown that close cooperation between business and the arts is a powerful combination.
“Congratulations to all the finalists and to the RUA for curating such a fine exhibition. The works from some of our most exciting established and up and coming artists have once again proved that this exhibition draws some of the best talent in the world.”
Dan Dowling, President of the RUA, said: “The RUA Annual Exhibition showcases a plethora of both established and up-and-coming artistic talent which cements this event’s welldeserved reputation as world class. Throughout the exhibition we also run a very comprehensive outreach and education programme which includes guided tours and ‘meet the artist’ talks. Best of all, entry to the exhibition and the events are free”.
“Thanks to KPMG for its continued support and to the Ulster Museum for hosting the exhibition.
The adjudicator for the RUA Annual Exhibition 2022 is Belfastborn artist, writer, DJ, broadcaster and journalist, Joe Lindsay.
The exhibition has already opened and will run until 3rd January 2023.
NI SURVEYOR HONOURED WITH LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD AT LONDON CEREMONY
Belfast-based chartered surveyor Diana Fitzsimons has been awarded the inaugural lifetime achievement award at the RICS UK Awards Grand Final in London.
Diana, who has served as RICS NI Chair, Chair of the global Planning and Development Faculty Board of RICS and member of RICS World Governing Council, as well as Deputy Chair of RICS Lionheart, has had a distinguished career across the public, private and voluntary sectors. She was presented with the accolade on Friday afternoon at a gala in the Londoner Hotel on Leicester Square.
The RICS Awards are a highly prestigious event, presenting accolades to the most impressive building projects and teams in the UK. This is the first year in the longstanding awards history that a lifetime achievement award has been presented.
Judges said that Diana Fitzsimons FRICS was an extremely worthy recipient.
Currently a Belfast Harbour Commissioner and a Visiting Professor at Ulster University, Diana is immediate past Chair of Radius Housing and has been active throughout her career at an international level. She regularly gives conference papers on her favourite subjects of sustainability, urban regeneration and Belfast Harbour’s regeneration activities.
Diana worked in private practice for many years as a planning consultant leading the Belfast office of Turley, then her own practice, and before that was a principal Planning Appeals Commissioner for a decade. Before that she was a Senior Lecturer in Planning and Development at Ulster University, involved in course development, teaching and research in her field of urban regeneration.
Diana’s Lifetime Achievement Award came at an event where Northern Ireland projects and professionals swept the board. The Erne Campus of South West College was named Public Sector Project of the Year as well as overall Project of the Year. An Chroí Community Hub in the North West was highly commended in the Community Benefit Project category, whilst the project team delivering the North West Multi Modal Transport Hub won Infrastructure Team of the Year.
