MATTHEW NEWTON is a director at quantity surveyors Walker Sime. Formerly with Gardiner & Theobold, in Manchester, he heads up Walker Sime’s recently opened Liverpool office.
This is an account of his day.
6amThe day usually begins in fairly sudden fashion – a slap on the face from my three-year-old Joe, with his six-year-old brother Tom not far behind. The early start doesn’t bother me so much though as living in Monton, over in Manchester. I’ve got a bit of a commute since Walker Sime set up its Liverpool office in September.
7.15amA quick cup of tea and it’s time to fight my way along the M62 and Edge Lane. It can be a bit of a slog, but it does at least give me some space to visualise – and, more importantly, prioritise – the day ahead.
8.30amI’m in the office by half eight at the latest. Our decision to open an office in Liverpool was taken not just because of the tremendous opportunities within the city at the moment, but more practically because many of our clients are based over here. We’re in the process of opening a Leeds office for the same reason, and it just means we’ll be able to respond more quickly to clients’ requirements.
10amThere are six of us in the team at the moment, with a seventh on the way, and we make a point every morning of meeting up to ensure we allocate our resources as efficiently as possible. Our service offering is exactly the same as the Manchester office – chiefly quantity surveying, project management and fund monitoring.
11am Liverpool has some great opportunities at the moment, and it’s my job to make sure we can capitalise on those opportunities and develop the business, while at the same time ensuring our current clients receive a great level of service. At 11am, I nip out to a contract meeting with one of our current clients, UK Land, based in the building next door.
11.45amAfter discussing a few contract amendments in our meeting, it’s time for the practical, and we venture out to the project site itself at Exchange Flags where I have a chat with the team for an update of how things are progressing.
NoonHead back to office, but take a quick detour to pop in on another of our current projects, No 1 Dale Street. One of the big benefits of being in Liverpool is that we’re not far away from most of our clients.
12.45pmStop off at the Restaurant Bar and Grill for a quick working lunch with a client – usually it’s a sandwich at my desk.
2pmBack to the office and check emails and messages, we’ve had a few IT teething troubles lately. It’s a bit of a lottery where our phones and emails are working at the moment. You forget how much you rely on modern technology – at times recently, we’ve felt as if we’d be better off returning to the days of the carrier pigeon.
3pmCatch up with the rest of the team and progress work on a few tenders. Most of my time is, in fact, spent chasing and following up leads, formalising bid proposals and generally making sure we’re in with a shout for as many jobs as possible. The quantity surveying industry is generally very competitive at the moment, so you have to make sure your proposals are as good as they can possibly be.
4.45pmHave a debriefing not only with the team here but also with the Manchester office. We try and take an integrated approach as a company – it’s vitally important that there isn’t any inter-firm rivalry and that our offices work together.
6pmAfter a final check of the emails, it’s back on to Edge Lane for the journey home.
7pmGet home, put the children to bed and have a sit down with my wife Michelle and a nice glass of wine (Amarone, on this occasion). It’s not normally so relaxed – if I’m not watching Manchester City, I’ll be out running as both Michelle and I are training for the Manchester 10K run in May. What’s my target? To beat my age.
