Gleeds

A UK-founded cost, project and property consultancy, set up in London in 1885, with about 1,300 people in 18 UK and Ireland offices.

About Gleeds

Gleeds advises on the cost, management and value of buildings and property. Its core work began as quantity surveying and cost planning, and it has grown to cover project management, building surveying and advisory work across the construction and property lifecycle. Its UK page lists work in energy, heritage and culture, life sciences, healthcare, education, commercial, residential, retail and hospitality. Its longest client relationship, it says, is with Marks and Spencer.

The firm was founded in London in 1885 by Richard Gleed, an architect, with a partner, Arthur Belcher, and it was one of the first independent quantity surveying practices. Gleed also helped create the Standard Method of Measuring Quantities, still used by the industry. Its history page stresses independence and impartial advice for clients, and its tagline is "Innovative and independent since 1885". Gleeds adds that it has operated in the UK for 150 years, with a UK business dating from 1875, so its own pages differ on the starting date. Its history page says Bristol was its first office outside London, with Nottingham and Newcastle added later, and it says the firm kept its independent status through the global financial crisis.

The UK page lists 18 offices: Barrow-in-Furness, Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Newcastle upon Tyne, Nottingham, Oxford, Royal Tunbridge Wells, Southampton and Warrington. About 1,300 people work across the UK and Ireland, and the firm employs more than 2,300 worldwide. The offices have local strengths: Barrow and Warrington for energy, and Cambridge and Oxford for heritage, culture and life sciences.

The firm says it is certified a Great Place to Work two years running, describes its approach as "professionalism with personality", shares best practice across its offices, and invests in local communities and social value. It lists Richard Steer as chairman and Olympic rower Sir Steve Redgrave as Global Ambassador. These are the company's own claims. The history page records post-war schools and housing among its early work, including a large housing project in Doncaster.

People in the firm work as quantity surveyors, cost managers and consultants, project managers, building surveyors and advisers, and in bid, finance and support teams. The work is a good match for someone who likes numbers, organisation and buildings, and who enjoys explaining decisions to clients. Offices in many UK cities mean it is possible to work close to home in many parts of the country, and the firm's mix of cost, project and surveying work means there are several different career paths inside one company.

What they do

• {'desc': 'Planning and controlling what buildings and projects cost.', 'title': 'Cost management and quantity surveying'}
• {'desc': 'Managing projects from brief to completion in many sectors.', 'title': 'Project management'}
• {'desc': 'Surveying existing buildings and advising on property assets and value.', 'title': 'Building surveying and advisory'}

Key facts

• Founded in London in 1885 by Richard Gleed
• About 1,300 people in 18 UK and Ireland offices; 2,300 worldwide
• Independent firm; Great Place to Work certified for two years (company claim)
• Longest client relationship is with Marks and Spencer

Website: www.gleeds.com