Spotlight Series: Dean Mitchell
Legacy Club shines a light on some of our members to see what makes them and their business tick.
We spoke to Dean Mitchell, Partner at 4B Projects.
Please tell us a little bit about you the person (not you the business owner): I am a 40-year-old, currently living in Warwickshire but born and bred in Islington, North London. In my early years I grew up with the ambition of playing professional rugby and did do for a brief period in my life, as well as representing Ireland at U19 and U21 level and also representing the great rugby nation of Qatar (ha ha) whilst working abroad. I still love the game and coach a local rugby team nowadays as well as supporting the Irish Rugby Union with their IQ (Irish Qualified) programme which identifies Irish qualified players living in England, Scotland and Wales who have dreams of one day wearing the green jersey.
I have a real passion for the construction industry, and this first became apparent in the early-2000's when I decided to embark on a career as a Quantity Surveyor. I was very fortunate that this allowed me to travel a fair bit and enabled me to have various roles in Ireland, Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia before finally returning to the UK in 2016 as a Partner of a well-known global construction consultancy in Central London called Arcadis who I thoroughly enjoyed working for.
Describe your business in less than 30 words: 4B are London's newest construction cost consultancy providing Clients/Developers with the full spectrum of services from inception through to project completion. Involving 4 brothers, and 2 experienced individuals renowned in the industry who head up our own in-house MEP team which we are very proud and fortunate to have.
What industry or sector does your business fall in to?: Construction and Property
What did you do before you started your business?: I was a Partner for Arcadis (formerly EC Harris) who are a global built asset consultancy and was based in their London office specialising in the commercial office sector. Prior to that I was Head of Cost Management for Arcadis in the UAE and Saudi Arabia working on a variety of amazing schemes such as the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup Programme, super-regional shopping malls with snow domes, ultra-luxury 5*+ hotel developments and some of the GIGA projects in Saudi which are targeted at boosting the tourism industry in the Kingdom.
What have been the biggest struggles that you have encountered, and what did you do to overcome them?: Being from a modest, humble, Irish-descent family we have always been taught that “self-praise is no praise” and so therefore the self-promotion piece that is required to raise the profile of yourself and your company has not come easy. Anyone who knows us 4 brothers will know that when we get together, we are boisterous, and love being in each other’s company – therefore it has been important that we find a way to separate our fun family side from the work side, which was strange at first but the rule is to look at each other as work colleagues and act in a professional manner with each other until "happy hour" starts.
Have you had any external investment to date?: No
What has been the impact of COVID-19 on your business and did you make any changes, or pivots?: It was difficult at first as we needed to build relationships with key individuals and clients quickly, which was tricky when you are restricted to Zoom and Teams calls. However, what we are finding is that more and more people in the Construction sector are returning to the office meaning that a catch up over a coffee or a beer in the evening is returning to be the norm.
Do you struggle with, or have you found any of the following barriers to your business growth?: People & Talent, Access to markets
Do you have any business hero's, if so, who are they?: After reading the book ‘Legacy’ by James Kerr I was completely in awe with the way he was able to provide valuable lessons on business leadership from the best team in the world – the All Blacks. This hit a real chord with me due to my rugby background which instantly and simply you were able to relate to.
Financial Rewards or Business Awards?: Financial Rewards
What was the last book you read?: ‘Key Person Of Influence’ by Daniel Priestley who I was very fortunate enough to meet at a Legacy Club Breakfast Meeting recently. Great book and I am currently reading ‘Oversubscribed’ now!
Tell us something totally unique about your business: 4B has a genuine passion for cost consultancy and quantity surveying that involves 4 brothers, hence the company name. We are in a unique position whereby our sister company, Quants, do a lot of work with Tier 1 Contractors in London meaning that our ear is kept firmly on the ground with regards to contractor appetite and market insights. We have delivered projects ranging from £500k - £1.5bn and have been responsible for the completion of in excess of £14bn of construction capex working with some of the largest Developers in the London, national and international markets.
Finally, please tell us what we can look forward to with your business in the 2022: We have just invested in an interactive Power-Bi benchmarking tool to showcase our cost data for in excess of 50 commercial office developments around London in both a new-build and refurbishment capacity – this is very powerful and something we are very particularly proud of – we are looking to do the same for our residential capabilities by 2Q 2022. Furthermore, we are looking forward to demonstrating how we as a business have our ear firmly on the ground with regards to contractor appetite, key trends and market insights in order to deliver the best possible results for our clients – this will be demonstrated through the issuance of our publications throughout the year to help inform our clients. We are also looking forward to growing our team and have already recruited our first apprentice who we will be supporting and sponsoring them through a part-time (day release) degree course at the College of Estate Management, University of Reading. And finally, we are excited to be continuing to grow our client base and helping deliver exceptional outcomes for future generations not just in London, but nationally and internationally too.
