Just over a year ago, businessmen Rob Jones and Daryll Evans launched facilities management and maintenance company Eden Facilities.
Recently, the duo completed their biggest project to date, the renovation and conversion of a former take away and café into an adult recovery service in South Shields, which is delivered by South Tyneside Adult Recovery Service (STARS) and overseen by Waythrough
Over coffee, they tell editor Leanne Fawcett why they decided to go into partnership, teaming up with Waythrough and their plans for the future…
Eden Facilities might be a relatively new kid on the business block, having only launched a little over a year ago.
But already the company, headed up by Peterlee businessmen Rob Jones and Daryll Evans, is taking the construction, maintenance and facilities management industry by storm.
Recently, Rob and Daryll completed their biggest project to date, transforming a derelict former take away and café in South Shields into an adult recovery service.
And they have no plans to stop there, as they target another ambitious redevelopment in Carlisle city centre.
I am keen to know how and where it all started.
Rob, 35, who is a plumber by trade, tells me: “I started working for myself at the age of 25 and initially specialised in the residential plumbing market, which I did enjoy.
“However, it is hard to stick to a standard working day. People expect you to be available when they need you, whether that’s first thing on a morning or at 10pm at night.
“It is very tiring and difficult to switch off.
“Instead, I decided to focus on the commercial sector as I wanted a better work/life balance. Over the years I built up a regular stream of clients and was enjoying it.
“A few years ago, I met Daryll and we worked together on a couple of jobs. With our different skill sets and the links we had with other trades, we realised there was a lot of crossover, and it made sense to go into business together.”
Eden Facilities combines Rob’s plumbing with Daryll’s tiling expertise, alongside their experience of project management, to offer a one-stop shop for facilities management, maintenance and redevelopment.
Their portfolio of projects includes Traynor Business Park in Peterlee and a site in Newton Aycliffe.
But it’s their role in the redevelopment of the additional South Tyneside Adult Recovery Service (STARS) facility in South Shields has been their biggest project to date – and one they hope will be a catalyst for larger projects across the north.
“It was a tough project to manage in the early stages, and we certainly faced a few challenges along the way. But even with those snags, we were able to complete the project in three months, and the team have now moved in.”
While Daryll undertook the renovation of the building, Rob handled the maintenance and compliance, with the end result seeing a complete transformation from two run-down buildings that were full of rubbish, to two clean and friendly spaces that provide a safe haven and support for residents in South Tyneside who have substance misuse challenges.
Alison Sharp, area manager for South Tyneside Adult Recovery Service, which is part of the national Waythrough charity, said: “We had outgrown our site at Cookson House and knew we needed more space to allow us to develop our service offer.
“We found the premises at Queen Street, but they needed so much work doing to them, it was hard to visualise how they could look.
“Rob and Daryll have been great. They took on the redevelopment project and within three months had completed all of the work and we were able to move in.
“From here we are able to offer enhanced recovery and rehabilitation services, including structured group provision, drop-in groups including wellness Wednesday sessions, aftercare support for community detox programmes and a range of one-to-one interventions. We support anyone over the age of 18 from South Tyneside who needs us.
“This new facility is perfect for us. It’s relaxed and welcoming for people who are often very nervous about accessing support. I cannot thank Rob and Daryll enough for how seamlessly they undertook the work.”
Rob and Daryll are now looking to the future, with some big projects in the pipeline including two in Carlisle, which they are currently in discissions about.
Rob, who recently became a father for the first time, added: “Daryll and I have proven that we are able to manage large scale, complex projects, so we are now looking at expanding our portfolio and winning work across the north.
“If we are successful in being awarded the larger of the projects in Carlisle, it would supersede the South Shields redevelopment as our largest to date. We’re confident that we will get it, which would be guaranteed work for us for several months.
“That for me is the real benefit of commercial work rather than residential – with residential it tends to be day to day, whereas a commercial project might bring in enough work to guarantee our salaries for months to come, so it gives a bit more security which we’re both keen on.”
Daryll said: “We are very confident in what we do. We want to deliver the very best results for our clients because recommendations will be key to our growth. The challenge now is for us to continue to win work, and if we do that, we’ll be looking at whether we need to take on an office and perhaps add to the team to help manage the administration side of things. We’re ambitious but we’re also grounded, so any decisions we make will be at the right time – growth has to be steady and at the right time for our business.”