Construction Exceeding Expectations
You need a commercial construction partner with building in their blood.
There is certainly an amount of concrete that has worked its way into the DNA of BHR’s team!
Managing Director Dirk Britton, Senior Project Manager Dan Rogers, Financial and Office controller Simon Hughes, and the newest member of the team, Jordan Britton all live and breathe the construction industry.
Their reputation is built on their unfailing delivery of successful projects.
This success is founded on more than just expert build, construction, and finishing services. It’s about understanding what you’re looking to achieve, about clear communication, and then the hard skills of knowing exactly how to get it done.
Years of experience have given the crew at BHR the know-how and confidence to take on the most ambitious project, knowing they’ll get it done.
We know what you want in a construction partner:
- A great reputation
- Years of experience
- Excellent communication
- Total reliability
- A sound management structure
- The team, the skills, the attitude to get it done
Anything you want to discuss or check on? We’re more than happy to meet with you and tell you more about us.
Who Are BHR Commercial Construction?
The BHR team can honestly boast years of experience and a track record of success. They are down-to-earth and seasoned individuals who continue to leave their mark on the construction industry.
They are:
Dirk Britton
You’d have to travel a long way to find a man more passionate about delivering brilliant service than Dirk Britton. He combines decades of experience with a genuine love of the industry, which makes him extraordinary in the sector.
He set up BHR Commercial Construction late 2022 as a new venture that would allow him and his trusted partners to work on a more diverse portfolio of projects.
Dirk is a great communicator and loves chatting with clients, new and old.
His heartfelt belief is that business should be fair and upfront. Honesty and respect are his core principles.
He demonstrates his good faith by insisting on sticking with the quote they give where there’s no fundamental change in the spec.
“We don’t go looking for extra work, or ways to add to our fee – in fact, we often fix things or include extra work in the price. It’s just a bit of pay-back for the faith our clients have in us.”
Read more about Dirk
Dirk and his team have great relationships with the contractors they work with, and this results in fantastic working cooperation. When they want some extra effort put into a project, they know they can call on their workforce, who willingly put the time in.
How did Dirk get into the construction industry?
A City and Guilds qualification in Plastering, allowed his skills were put to good use during a restoration project at Osbourne House on the Isle of Wight.
A wing of the house was being converted to retirement apartments for ex-forces personnel, which required a delicate balance of remodelling and preserving and restoring original features.
There followed a year working on the EuroDisney resort where he started to expand his skillset by working across the site on different jobs.
Building the Euro Connection
Next, Dirk was offered a job in Berlin, constructing many municipal buildings, including hospitals, fire stations and care homes.
His firm even helped restore the lower levels of the Bundestag after the river Spree flooded. He learned a lot about remedial works during that project.
By now, Dirk’s natural leadership qualities meant he was frequently in charge of a team of contractors. Plus he learned the language, which proved very useful when an opportunity arose to work with what was then an up-and-coming German supermarket chain – Lidl.
Years later, Dirk could look back over dozens of stores built for the successful discounter, most of them back in the UK.
Not Just Retail!
Dirk completed other work between retail projects, including a stint working on a wood-burning energy plant based in Lockerbie, Scotland. This was well after the air disaster that shockingly brought the town to people’s attention, but his conversations with locals showed that the crash was still very much in mind for those that lived there at the time.
Breaking away from a single type of building was part of Dirk’s thinking when he founded BHR Commercial Construction.
They are open to any commercial work, from fitting a professional kitchen, to fitting out empty units for change of use, or complete ground-up builds.
They love to flex their knowledge of heritage restoration and repurposing too.
Every Project Has a Story
If you ask Dirk if he has any particular accomplishments or favourite projects, he’ll tell you no. “They’re all my babies!” he says, and you get the impression he could walk you through the details of every job if you asked him to. They all have a story, and each one is special.
Does Dirk Ever Stop Working?
Not often. A true grafter, Dirk loves being on site, putting in the hours.
But when he has time out, he indulges his passion for music. He loves going to concerts and has seen acts such as Eric Clapton, Chris Rea, Deep Purple, Brian Adams and Tina Turner, often multiple times.
In fact he almost stormed the stage at a Chris Rea concert and ended up singing down the mic in front of thousands. His vocals earned Chris’s approval and applause from the crowd.
He collects good whisky, and his love of sharp dressing and travel are still indulged when time allows.
You can read Dirk’s profile on LinkedIn, or contact him through the form on this website. Whatever your building project, he’d love to talk to you.
Daniel Rogers
Daniel Rogers is the Senior Project Manager with BHR.
He started his career in the construction industry as an apprentice carpenter. He studied alongside his placement, and gained a City and Guilds in Carpentry. He remembers this as a time when he made innumerable windows and door frames.
He successfully became a site joiner at the end of his apprenticeship, and within a few years was made charge hand, leading a team of carpenters completing first fix works across a number of different sites.
There followed a number of jobs across London, each seeing him improve his skills, as he progressed from Site Foreman to Site Manager.
He has passed the VAC Construction/Foundation course, and has his CSCS Card for site management, as well as the CITB 5-day Site Management Safety Training Scheme. He has also competed training in Scaffold Safety Inspection, Fire Marshall Awareness, and a FFA Level 3 First Aid Course.
In other words, Daniel is extremely well qualified to manage a construction site, and holds the full range of skills required to get the job done. In fact you can read about how his working day usually goes in this ‘behind-the-scenes’ Insight article.
Read more about Daniel
A Wide Range of Projects
Working within the client’s expectations is nothing new to him. He recalls a contract where his team were required to refurbish hotel rooms at the Waldorf in London. The hotel remained open throughout the the project, requiring Daniel and the workforce to refurbish one floor at a time, whilst working as quietly and subtly as possible. The instruction was not to disturb the paying guests, so heavy duty curtaining was used to hide the work from public view, whilst keeping the noise down.
The team worked with discretion and care, and the hotel were delighted with the results.
Daniel has been involved in a huge range of construction projects, from new housing estates to work in Somerset House and the British Museum. He’s well-versed in historic building preservation, as well as the latest materials and techniques.
Why BHR?
He has known and worked with Dirk for the past seven years. They share a passion for getting the job done well, and for providing the best service to their clients. So it was a natural fit for him to join Dirk as part of the BHR team.
Daniel is proud of the 100% record of successful, timely delivery they’ve achieved, and the great reputation they have as a result. He won’t compromise on quality, and will get the job done on time – if not early.
He spends almost all his time in the business out on site, where, as Senior Project Manager, he is involved in planning, management and strategy from day one of a project until they hand over the keys.
Health and safety is an important aspect of Daniel’s job, along with clear communication between himself and contractors on site, and back to the client.
His priority is always to make sure the project is delivered on time, on spec and on budget, and he’s good at achieving that.
Away From Work
When he gets the chance to take off his hard hat, Dan likes to spend time with his sons. He has a five-year-old who takes up his remaining energy as he loves to go swimming, camping and hiking with him.
Simon Hughes
With Simon Hughes at the helm, the BHR office is in safe hands. As the company’s bookkeeper and admin guru he ensures the ‘i’s and ’t’s are dotted and crossed.
Simon, Dirk and Dan have worked together for four years, ever since Simon answered an ad for a construction firm looking for a bookkeeper to work in Germany. The three met and got on famously, so when the time came to consider setting up a fresh business, it made perfect sense to continue working together.
Getting Into Construction
Simon’s introduction to building and construction started with a little help from his dad. Or it might more accurately have been called a shove in the back. A youth about town in London, without a care in the world, Simon was happy floating about jobless, but his father had different ideas. When, despite ultimatums and serious cajoling, Simon totally failed to find a job, Dad stepped in.
Next thing he knew, and thanks to his Dad’s work connections, Simon was employed selling ‘pipeline’.
He found himself working in a commercial and industrial heating and ventilation pipe retailers. Theirs were not the pipes you’ll find running through your house. They were huge. Some almost big enough to walk through. Simon’s customers ranged from councils to large construction outfits and his education in the world of commercial building began.
Read more about Simon
Getting a Grip on the Finances of Construction
He followed this job with another selling bathrooms and kitchens, and began to discover a liking for the bookkeeping side of things. As the years passed, he and his wife liked to travel around, so the offer of the job in Germany was music to his ears – and the connection was made.
Simon wanted to know more about, and be expert at, the finances attached to construction. He studied a Quantity Surveyors course – although he had no intention of qualifying – to give himself an in-depth understanding of the materials and quantities involved. The course worked, and he became fully conversant with construction quotation and estimation techniques.
Why BHR?
The reason he loves working with Dirk, Daniel and Jordan is their shared approach to business. They all bring a can-do attitude, and are dedicated to delivering each project on budget and on time.
The speed, efficiency and teamwork at BHR, along with their excellent communication, make them a formidable force, as their clients will testify.
Down Time
Away from the office, Simon has always been into Wargaming. He gets together with his fellow enthusiasts, and they use miniature soldiers, armies and weapons to recreate historical battles. They also adjust the parameters of those battles to see what other outcomes are possible. And they fight new wars with new weapons and tactics.
He knows some people might raise their eyebrows and start thinking ‘toy soldiers?’. However – there are few hobbies as good for developing strategic forward thinking. It’s up there with chess, but with more pieces, and more cannon.
Jordan Britton
Jordan Britton has grown up around construction – with Dirk as his dad it’s in his DNA.
Unsurprisingly, he wanted to get involved in the industry as soon as possible, and after leaving school he found himself working as a general labourer. He moved on to groundworks, and quickly found himself learning from the tradespeople around him. He added plastering and drylining to his skills, and built a strong understanding of what it took to bring a project to completion.
Jordan already knew he wanted to move towards site management, so he started studying. He passed his Site Management Safety Training Scheme (SMSTS), First Aid Certificate, and his Construction Qualification. He’s also studied for an International Business and Marketing Diploma.
When Lock-Down Leads to Learning
He picked up fresh skills during the Covid crisis. Although the industry didn’t cease entirely, it did involve spending more time in the office, which allowed him to listen in on conversations and negotiations. Watching how projects were discussed and agreed gave him great insight into working at a management level
Six years after starting on the ground floor of construction, Jordan now finds himself involved in each project from pre-startup and site preparation, through to final delivery.
That’s the most rewarding aspect of the job for him – seeing a project through from an idea, a plan, a stake in the ground, to the finished building the client is looking for. Initial concept to amazing completion. That’s his idea of job satisfaction.
Read more about Jordan
From Beginning, to Completion
A recent example of this is a the fit-out of a Snap Fitness gym in Addlestone High Street. He was involved in the initial meetings and tendering process, had a supervisory and client liaison role throughout the build, and was instrumental in helping the get the fit out completed to a high standard and ahead of schedule.
The extra level of responsibility suited him perfectly, and he’s looking forward to stepping up again in future projects.
His guiding principal is to complete the work to the high standard he would expect to see in a project of his own. The drive to exceed the expectations of his clients matches perfectly with the values Dirk has created for BHR as a whole.
Away From Work
Jordan doesn’t get to play team sports as much as he used to, but he still makes a priority of looking after his health and fitness. He knows that investing in himself gives him a clear advantage in the rest of his life, including his career.
He could have made that career in golf if he’d chosen to. At two years old he started knocking balls around the garden with a little set of plastic clubs. By age nine he was competing in – and winning – junior tournaments. He was successful enough to qualify to play in the European Juniors in Spain, 2017. From there he was selected to represent England in the Junior European Open.
He couldn’t resist the lure of the construction site though, so golf is very much a hobby now, albeit a hobby he’s very good at.
Music is important to him – there’s not much time between work commitments, but when he can, he loves going to gigs to see his favourite bands live.
If the team at BHR sound like the type of people you want working on your project, call them now and start the discussion.