The Business Exchange Swindon & Wiltshire Edition 30: April/May 2017 | Page 33

BUSINESSWISE
BUSINESSWISE
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From left to right:
Jerry Thornton and Mick Haren
www.businesswise.org.uk
Relationships are at the
heart of BusinessWise
Relationships built on trust and knowledge are central to the
ethos of Swindon’s leading referral group BusinessWise.
Our group – meets every week on a Friday morning in central
Swindon, works together to ensure each member gets
to know each other well and can refer with confidence.
An example is the collaboration that has grown between
Chartered Building Surveyor Jerry Thornton, of Thornton
Associates and Mick Haren, of Sandymount Construction Ltd.
Jerry Thornton is a Chartered Surveyor who has worked
in the construction sector for more than 40 years. His
company offers advice on building related issues around
the fabric and structure of commercial, industrial, retail
and residential premises. Although the business is based in
Swindon’s Old Town, Jerry works across the UK.
Mick Haren runs Sandymount Construction which
is based in Royal Wootton Bassett. He has 35 years’
experience in the property and construction sector. The
company offers services to domestic and commercial
customers looking for the highest standards of
craftsmanship. This includes alterations, extensions, new
builds, project management and structural repairs.
Mick explains the importance of his relationship with
Jerry. “I can honestly say Jerry is the most selfless person I
know,” Mick said.
“As a building surveyor, some of his work involves
listed buildings, party wall work and acting as an expert in
disputes around building work. So at first glance the only
synergy between us would be our passion for buildings.
“Since getting to know Jerry, he has been hugely
influential. While I would like to say we (Sandymount
Construction) never make mistakes, unfortunately things
do go wrong from time to time.
“However, we do have an ethos of always accepting
responsibility and doing whatever is necessary to put it
right. Over time Jerry has become aware of this and I think
this is one of the reasons he is happy to refer us.
“Jerry’s reputation is such that a referral from him is like
money in the bank. Just this month we started work on
a project for someone Jerry referred us to. The customer
had waited over six months for us because, he said ‘in the
twenty-five years I’ve known Jerry he has never before
recommended anyone and I have to take notice of that.’”
“In one week alone we were recently asked to quote on
two projects by people Jerry has recommend me to. It’s a
privilege to work with Jerry and I can’t thank him enough.”
Jerry has similar praise for Mick and his team.
He said: “After 40 plus years of involvement in poorly
executed building contracts and in an era of general
mistrust, blame laying and litigation, it’s refreshing to find a
contractor with a professional team who is willing to work
closely with the client in a unified way. Building contracts
are the ultimate example of teamwork where each party
has a very specific role.
“For the last few years, I have been working with
Sandymount Construction on both commercial and
domestic projects. I have found their approach to
estimating and tendering to be utterly transparent and
their work on site to be client-centred. They are intent
on getting the job completed to a high standard. Their
staff are responsible and easy to work with, especially in
a domestic situation where trust and integrity is of such
importance.”
Both Jerry and Mick can be found listed on BusinessWise
website at www.businesswise.org.uk
Member Benefits:
• Not for Profit Organisation
• Fees re-invested into the group
• Exclusive business cate gory
• Opportunities for new business
across all sectors
• Low annual membership fee
VISITORS
If you are interested in visiting BusinessWise (all visitors
can come along free of charge), we meet on Friday
morning at 6.45am at Jury’s Inn, Swindon town
centre. We are run on a not-for-profit basis and, as a
non-competing group, one member will be the only
member representing his or her sector in the room.
We are currently looking for new members in these
areas:
Architecture
Dentistry
Graphic Design
Restaurant or food industry
Fitness
GP practice
Wellbeing/health-based
Retail
Opticians
Floristry
Plumber
Sport
Education
Interested?
If you would like to find out more – or come along
as a visitor, please visit our website or call the
BusinessWise Chair, Fiona Scott:
07789 270030
For more info:
www.businesswise.org.uk
THE BUSINESS EXCHANGE 2017
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