Fantastic contract proving to be a jewel in the Crown
A contruction and landscaping company has landed a £300,000 deal to play a key role in the expansion of one of the biggest players in British cinema.
Crown Group is helping with the expansion of Warner Bros Studios – home to an array of blockbusters including Harry Potter, its sequel Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them, Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, and children's favourite Paddington.
The company, which is based at Upton Magna and Welshpool, has secured a major landscaping project at the sprawling 150-acre Hertfordshire site as part of the latest instalment of the multi-million pound studios' expansion.
Warners Bros is constructing sound stages, workshops, a multi-storey car park and a state-of-the-art graphics and design space at Leavesden.
Its landscaping, which includes substantial new planting along the western edge of the site and in and around the Studio Tour car park extension, will be delivered by Crown Group.
Managing director Gareth Emberton said the £300,000 contract is due to be completed by the spring and is the latest in a string of business wins for the sub-contractor, which has doubled in size in the last year.
He said: "We are passionate about construction and horticulture working hand in hand and we've delivered commercial landscaping schemes successfully across the UK for some time.
"However, our long term strategy was always to expand our core business, developing more of an integrated approach to the design, building and maintenance of construction and landscaping projects.
"We're seeing the result of this in the last year with a number of high-profile contracts, including this one at the home of cinema's greatest movies, including Casablanca and of course, the Harry Potter films.
"The contract at Warner Bros supports the master plan for the next 10 years for the site which attracts more than five million visitors a year."
The group is also seeing significant growth in its facilities management and environmental management divisions.
Mr Emberton said he believes this is because top construction contractors, whether working on key infrastructure projects such as HS2 or private sector investments like Warners Bros, want contractors who can solve problems.
He said: "Our focus is always on how we can innovate the process, to help the construction giants we work with, such as Bowmer & Kirkland and Galliford Try, save time and money."
