IT BEGAN life as the Exeter Building Company, created when a group of companies got together in the West Country to undertake work for the war department and steadily expanded throughout the region over the next 50 years.

By the end of the last century it had outgrown the West Country and in 2001 was re-branded as Rok under the leadership of a new chief executive, Garvis Snook, who is still at the helm today.

The company, which now has over 60 offices nationwide and a turnover of roughly £1 bn, began moving northwards in 2003 and has recently expanded its operations in the North West, where it is already has a major presence, with the acquisition of Richardson Projects in Rochdale.

“Over the years there has been a progressive expansion both in organic terms in growing the existing offices and through acquisitions,” says Jon Rukin, area leader.

“We will always be on the lookout for the businesses that fit our profile and have a reputation in keeping with our own and we are usually looking at a number of organisations at any one time. People tend to approach Rok, particularly people who have built a business up over several years and feel that it is time to move on. They want to leave their business in good hands within the Rok group.”

Richardson Projects, which was acquired last April when the previous owner retired, is a typical example, as a specialist company delivering newbuild social housing to different clients across the North of England. “The previous owner wanted to pass on the business to a company that fitted in with his own aspirations and standards and so approached the group,” says Rukin.

It employs upwards of 200 people and focuses on new build affordable housing, with a subsidiary office in Leeds also undertaking housing refurbishment for local authorities and ALMOs in West Yorkshire, including Decent Homes work and tower block upgrades. “There was dual benefit for us with the company’s track record but the business was brought in predominantly for its new-build expertise and specialism,” says Rukin.

The Rok Group is already building to Level 3 of the Code for Sustainable Homes across all of its building projects, and in some instances to Code Level 4. “The simple route to Code Levels 3 and 4 is through a high-performing timber frame solution,” says Rukin, “we feel that gives us a good advantage and it also ticks the modern methods of construction boxes in code scoring. The business has built in timber frames for a number of years but we have had to work with our manufacturing partners to improve the standards so they go a long way in providing the solutions to Code Levels 3 and 4.”

The Rok Group is also moving into using renewable energy forms – necessary to achieve Code Level 4 and also a planning requirement of many local authorities. “We are going away from the traditional gas boiler solution to other heating forms such as air source heat pumps,” says Rukin. “At Code Level 3 there is no planning requirement for renewable energy but as we move towards Code Level 4 it is almost impossible to hit that without some element of renewable. So we are working with our supply chain on solutions that will provide the most economic outcomes for our clients.”

As well as building affordable housing Richardson Projects has a network of land finders and the Rok Group is offering parcels of land with outline planning solutions to housing association clients for either pure rental or to develop as shared ownership properties.

The acquisition process may not be everyone’s cup of tea but for the Rok Group it has been the perfect solution, allowing it to become a national company with strong local connections. For the businesses that it acquires there is the chance to be part of a large, well-established company, with the bidding and buying power of a larger organisation.

Companies have to undergo stringent economic and financial tests on their balance sheets when bidding for frameworks and where a privately-owned stand- alone company turning over around £50 mn would fail to go forward, as part of a £1 bn company it would be able to meet those economic standards.

Rukin explained that other advantages included knowledge sharing between both organisations and the chance to access a larger supply chain network, benefiting from greater discounts.

Complementing the Rochdale operation is the Rok Group’s Bolton-based business, formerly Durose and Gourlay, which specialises in affordable housing refurbishment.

It has a number of long-term arrangements with north west-based ALMOs and housing associations and is involved in several programmes through GM Procure, all involving a mixture of internal and external upgrade works.

Recent successful partnership arrangements, which are now drawing to a close have included schemes with Twin Valley in Blackburn and a five and a half year programme with Wigan and Leigh Housing.

Ongoing schemes include Preston Gateway Housing, Green Vale Homes, Pennine Housing and the Elevate East Lancashire programme and the company is also in the process of bidding for the next award with Wigan and Leigh Housing. “On top of that we have a myriad of other smaller opportunities such as bathroom upgrades with the Northern Housing Consortium,” says Rukin.

Much of the work is on the Decent Homes programmes but the Rok Group also carries out environmental works such as new boundary walls, gates and driveways. In some areas it has done sporadic work on open parks and common areas although they tend to be more intermittent programmes.

Rukin added: “We are involved in a number of the North West’s PFI opportunities as a contractor partner. Rok has found itself to be quite a good fit there because a lot of the opportunities involve new-build, refurbishment and ongoing responsive and planned maintenance.”

2008 also was a year of growth for the plumbing, heating and electrical side of the Rok Group’s business, with the launch of Rok PHE.

“Rok through its acquisitions had built up a collection of offices that undertook plumbing, heating and electrical works,” says Rukin, “but they were operating as distinct businesses so Rok made a conscious decision to bring all of those capabilities together, across all those different businesses to create a company called Rok PHE.”

The Bolton business has undertaken its own plumbing, heating and electrical work for years but in time the employees involved in that side of the business will transfer into the formal PHE business, which in the North West is based in Wigan.

Rukin explains: “We will continue to work hand in glove and the Rok PHE business has now given us creative buying potential, so we can offer greater value for money to clients in things like new boilers and electrical kit for their properties.”

The Rok Group puts much of its success down to the high calibre of its staff and training is exceptionally important. “Rok’s profile is one of predominantly directly employed people in comparison with our peer group,” says Rukin. “Although unfortunately we are losing a few people through redundancy in these difficult times, the housing teams still remain very strong with good order books with high quality services to clients delivered through directly employed trades people.”

He explained that Rok has a “willingness” and “capability” to train people to become trades people of the future. The group has an apprenticeship programme for management trainees and craft/trade apprenticeships and at any given time between nine and 11 per cent of its trades people will be apprentices, equating to roughly 250 people throughout the business.

Rukin says: “Up until the housing slow down earlier this year when quite a few people came out of the private for sale housing market we had struggled to find real quality tradesman but the training programmes that we have had for a number of years have enabled us to bring through our own quality people and to continue growing and offering that level of service to our clients.”

In fact the Rok Group’s apprentices are of such a high-calibre that an employee of the Bolton arm of the business has recently been voted apprentice of the year.

The Rok Group’s operations in the north are extensive and reach far wider than the Rochdale and Bolton businesses. Other offices in the north west include a business in Liverpool undertaking housing refurbishment and maintenance activities, a small office in Macclesfield concentrating on housing refurbishment programmes and a team in Manchester that delivers all of the non-housing works.

Despite the current economic climate the Rok Group appears to be going from strength to strength through both organic growth and its acquisitions programme and although it acknowledges tough times ahead, this company seems to be rock solid.

Rukin says: “The downturn is predominantly in the non-housing sectors of industrial and commercial work but we still see growth and a significant opportunity in the housing sectors, general maintenance sectors and small building operations.”