Contrada Group

Who Are We

Contrada Group is a principal contractor specialising in fit out and refurbishment in the commercial, leisure, retail, and residential sectors.

We carry out all aspects of the works and specialise in project managing the whole process from concept design through to completion.

We’re flexible in the types of projects we do. We’re happy to work on traditional types of contracts with the client’s team of architects and other consultants or we can provide the full service of design and build along with cost management.

We started in 2004 and have built up a great reputation for delivering high quality spaces which has meant that most of our work is repeat business.

Our clients range from large blue chip companies to small individual start-ups, retailers, developers, and much more. Check out our impressive client testimonials.

Our projects range from £100,000 up to £7m and although most of work is in London and the home counties, we also work around the UK and abroad.

Contrada comes from a Latin word which means ‘to deliver together’

Our approach & promise

We strongly believe in the value of working as a team with the client to deliver a great project – a project we can all be proud of. Our people are what makes us as good as we are. We all care about what we do. We know that a great project is made up of everyone doing their bit, doing what we say we’re going to do.  Being proactive.
One thing that never changes is what our clients want – simply a space that meets their expectations of quality, for the cost they expected and in the time we agreed. It’s our job to make sure that always happens and generally we do that, time and again.

We know that a great project is not just the end result but how you get there.

  • We promise to be completely honest in everything we do and to act in your best interest
  • We promise that you’ll feel we’ve been part of your team
  • We promise to be as proactive in our management as you expect us to be
  • We promise to make your problems our problems and do our best to solve them
  • We promise to deliver a value for money project, on time and to the level of quality you expect

Our Team

Martin Burke <br> Operations Director

Martin Burke
Operations Director

As the founder of the business in 2004, Martin plays a key role in overseeing our service. With a background degree in Building Surveying and over 25 years’ fit out & refurbishment experience, his principle goal is to provide the best ongoing service for our clients. An honest, sensible and committed member of our team, Martin sets the bar high for everyone at Contrada. ‘‘We see everything clearer when we put ourselves in our clients shoes’’.

Tony Reeve <br> Contracts Manager

Tony Reeve
Contracts Manager

Tony has over 30 years’ experience in the fit out industry working as project manager and contracts manager. An honest and committed individual who gets the most out of his team and is well respected by clients and colleagues.
A highly valued member of the team, Tony heads up our project delivery for commercial and retail projects.

Julian Yorke <br> Commercial Manager

Julian Yorke
Commercial Manager

Julian came to us straight from Australia where he achieved degrees in both Planning & Design and Construction Management.   A great people person, he also understands construction very well. Julian’s honest approach is very important in helping to form trusting relationships with our clients.

Tony Thira <br> Project Manager

Tony Thira
Project Manager

We are not sure where Tony came from! He joined Contrada as a labourer and quickly worked his way up to foreman on our RICS project.   Tony’s progression to Site Manager and Project Manager is down to his incredible attitude and commitment. Clients love Tony, as he gets things done and never lets anyone down, always goes that extra mile. He’s a very hands on manager with experience of all types of works and environments.

Stephen Walsh <br> Project Manager

Stephen Walsh
Project Manager

With a multi-skilled site background, Stephen has quickly progressed from foreman all the way up to project managing our commercial and retail projects. A very proactive and methodical individual with a real sense of loyalty to our clients, he has been crucial to our project delivery over recent years.

Manni Varsani <br> Site Manager

Manni Varsani
Site Manager

Manni has been with Contrada for over 5 years and joined as a carpenter and site foreman with a reputation for top level quality. He has progressed to site manager in that time and, delivered high end retail, residential and commercial projects of the utmost quality. A very clear and forward thinking individual, Manni always does a job properly and is a key factor in Contrada attaining the Federation of Master Builders accreditation.

Brigette Burke <br> Head of HR & Accounts

Brigette Burke
Head of HR & Accounts

Having had many years experience in the retail business, Brigette joined Contrada in 2007 when we expanded to the point of needing our own internal HR & accounts personnel. She’s key to our business, making sure suppliers and subcontractors are happy as well as all our valuable staff.

Sarah Vecchio <br> Site Support and Health & Safety

Sarah Vecchio
Site Support and Health & Safety

Sarah has been multitasking ever since she joined Contrada in 2010 from a building background. Having started in administration, she now provides site support and with her friendly and meticulous approach, Sarah is an absolute attribute to the company.

Clare Podbury <br> Estimating & Commercial Manager

Clare Podbury
Estimating & Commercial Manager

Clare’s been with us almost from the beginning starting as a secretary. Having to multi task in the early days, she quickly showed her ability with numbers and is now an integral part of our estimating and surveying team

James Elton <br> Project & Design Manager

James Elton
Project & Design Manager

James manages the design process for our projects. He’s capable in most design programmes and ensures our client's design brief is interpreted into the drawings used to make the project a reality.

Stevan Krakovic <br> Marketing & IT

Stevan Krakovic
Marketing & IT

Stevan has also been with us from the beginning ensuring the both the company and site IT runs smoothly. His natural creative side helps him look after our marketing too

Clive Beesley <br> Accounts

Clive Beesley
Accounts

Clive has been with us since 2006 looking after our accounts and advising on the business growth. Another dedicated member of the team who’s commitment has been vital through our continued development

We have an important responsibility to maintain the environment.

Sustainability

We self monitor our impact and strive to reduce our impact on the environment in the following ways:

  • Using materials such as timber from sustainable sources
  • Using local materials and services where possible
  • Reduce emissions from our works
  • Using site waste management plans to minimise our waste to landfill and send to recycling plants instead
  • Achieving sustainability requirements under the Considerate Constructors Scheme

Accreditations

ISOWe’ve made great improvements in the quality and efficiency of our processes through ISO 9001. This has resulted in us becoming more productive and competitive as well as ultimately improving customer satisfaction.

safe-cHealth and safety is our first responsibility. Our health and safety record is impressive year after year and our accreditation to Safe Contractor demonstrates this. We strive to continually improve our understanding and approach to health and safety. We also require that our subcontractors share this approach.

chasBacked by the Health & Safety Executive, the Contractor Health and Safety Assessment Scheme is another measure of our ongoing approach to improvement of health and safety on our sites. As with Safe Contractor, this assessment requires that we demonstrate our ongoing competence in all relevant areas of heath and safety to our services.

c-onlineThis accreditation demonstrating competence over many aspects of our service enables us to carry out Public Sector work.

Health & Safety on our sites is our foremost priority

Health and Safety

We continually assess our performance & procedures and ensure continued training for our staff. Our procedures also require that all suppliers and subcontractors adhere to our health & safety requirements, including demonstrating ongoing training of their own staff.
All of our site and project managers are SMSTS trained and directors are IOSH trained and we require that all our operatives and manager carry CSCS cards. We have an impressive health & safety record for our sites, with incidents well below the industry average

Contrada Group uses The Health & Safety People for its health and safety site audits, procedures, advice and ongoing H&S policy. We have accreditation with both Safe Contractor and CHAS