News
MULBERRY HELPS THE WINNERS OF ‘THE RESTAURANT’
Michele English and Russell Clement, the winners of the second series of BBC2's ‘The Restaurant’, enlisted the aid of Mulberry recently. The couple opened their new restaurant, ‘The Cheerful Soul in the Hare & Hounds’, at Marlow in June. Mulberry helped them to get their large garden into shape.
In their blog, Michele and Russell comment: “With a huge amount of help from Mulberry Garden Maintenance and Anne-Marie (head Gardener at Le Manoir) and her team, the Cheerful garden is looking so much better. We have a vegetable patch that is starting to sprout with vegetables and herbs and will eventually end up on the plates in the restaurant.”
The restaurant is being opened in partnership with legendary chef, Raymond Blanc, who judged the TV series. He commented: “Their enthusiasm is fantastic; their dreams marvellous, and their passion exciting - and that is a real complement from a Frenchman!"
Anthony Ussher, Mulberry’s Managing Director, says: “We were delighted to be involved in this local project. We developed a plan for the changes needed in the garden, which involved some tree work as well as planting and the regeneration of hedges. We would like to wish Russell and Michele the very best in their exciting new venture.”
JANET’S A STAR ON THE MOON WALK!
Mulberry sponsored a participant in the 2009 ‘Playtex MoonWalk’ that started from London’s Hyde Park. Some 15,000 walkers took part in the marathon, held to raise funds for a charity that makes grants to breast cancer causes. Over the last 12 years, more than £45 million has been raised by walks in various cities across the UK.
The person sponsored by Mulberry was Janet Lawrie, who (like many other walkers) sported a pink fluffy bra over her sweatshirt. She completed the marathon in six hours and 30 minutes. Over the last two years, Janet has raised a total of £1,350 in sponsorship.
Anthony Ussher, Mulberry’s Managing Director, says: “We were delighted to be able to support Janet as she took part in this event.
This is the second year that we have sponsored her. The MoonWalk is a great idea and is a brilliant way of raising funds for such an important cause.”
Facilities Managers Consider the Benefits of Refurbishment
Watlington, 4 March 2008
Forecasts of a slowdown in commercial property and construction markets are leading organisations to put plans for relocation to new premises on hold, according to an Oxfordshire-based grounds maintenance firm. This, says Mulberry Grounds Maintenance, is focusing facility managers’ minds on refurbishment – with an eye to cutting costs and increasing value.
According to the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, 2007 saw tenant demand for commercial property fall to back to 2003 levels. The RICS Commercial Property Survey, published in January 2008, reported that surveyors continued to be pessimistic as a bleaker outlook was anticipated across all sectors. Surveyor confidence in the office sector turned negative for the first time since 2003, while in the retail sector, confidence in the future dipped to its lowest point in six years.
And, whilst there is currently a boom in office construction, new builds are mainly in city centre sites, and particularly in London. The situation is significantly different as experienced outside the M25.
“The evidence is”, says Mulberry managing director Anthony Ussher, “that organisations generally are staying put. They are making the most of what they already have, rather than relocating. Companies like ours can help them improve the working environment, reduce costs and add value to their premises, without the cost and disruption of an office move.”
Based centrally in Oxfordshire, Mulberry Grounds Maintenance provides high quality landscape services for customers across South East England. These range from care of lawns, trees, shrubs and borders, through interior plants and floral displays, to drives, car parks and water features. Expertise runs from large complex sites to smaller independent businesses.
What can this offer organisations that are refurbishing their facilities?
First, a contractor like Mulberry can recommend sound and innovative solutions that are tailor-made to each customer’s needs. Second, its solutions are grounded in sustainability, working with the changing natural world rather than against it. Last, but not least, these principles ensure exceptional value-for-money.
These principles apply from site maintenance audits, through design of landscape enhancements, to Implementation of landscape and environmental improvements,
For example, Mulberry was recently called-in to assess the site for a major headquarters building, which included an outdoor fountain as a key architectural feature. Its pumps were prone to breakdowns as well as using significant amounts of electricity. Plus – the closed system needed constant attention to leakage, and keeping the water clear gave ground staff a constant headache.
The proposed solution recommended planting a feature tree in place of the artificial fountain: sustainable water feature: one that doesn’t use power and reduces the carbon footprint. The result: an equally imposing architectural focus, with savings in both maintenance and utility costs.
Concluded Ussher: “This is just one example of the ways that companies can improve their image and the working environment, without the cost and hassle of moving.”
ENDS
