An interview with the owner.

At Elmtree we want to be as transparent as possible. Part of that is being open about our team and who we are. So, what better way to start than with the owner of Elmtree Building Services, Fraser.

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Can you tell us a bit about yourself—what’s your background, and what got you into building?

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“I’m Fraser, I'm 50 years old and I've been working in the construction industry for 33 years. When I was 20, I bought my first home at auction for £36,000, and it was a complete mess. With the help of my father-in-law at the time, we completely renovated inside and out. That was my first project I had ever completed, and I kind of thought “ooh, I really enjoy this” so from then I went on to teach myself different parts of the trade, which is how I’ve got here today.

I’ve since had the chance to work all around the world in countries like Spain, Ethiopia and Czechia on loads of amazing projects.”

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Did you always know you wanted to work in construction?

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“I actually didn’t want to be a builder. I originally wanted to join the army, but unfortunately, I failed the exam because of my asthma"

What made you decide to start Elmtree, and how has it grown over the years?

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“So I was working for a Dutch company as a project manager in London, and then COVID-19 hit. I came home and decided that I wanted to go back to my roots as a builder, so I started working locally on independent projects. Having been in the building industry for years before, I’d had the chance to meet some really amazing tradies who actually ended up approaching me for work. Little by little, we took new people on, making sure they were super skilled in what they do, and that was essentially the birth of Elmtree Building Services.

Thanks to them, I’ve been able to come off the tools and focus on developing the business and building closer connections with our customers. I can honestly say that we’ve got a brilliant team and everyone as a collective has enabled us to go from strength to strength.”

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What’s one project that’s really stuck with you or made you feel proud?

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"There are a couple of projects that have stuck with me. The first is obviously Minchinhampton Rugby Club. That really stuck out because it was the first large-scale project that we built. It was a community project for the club, and I played for them too, so being able to be a part of the club, which was really well designed and be able to put it together and see how it’s used now and will continue to be used is something that gives me a great sense of pride.

The other, which was a bit different, but I had to manage and build essentially the largest cold storage facility in Africa. It was at the cargo terminal in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and I managed a team of 38 people, some of whom had no experience working on a project like this, and through training and lots of hard work and a great team around me, we were able to build this huge facility. And that was really satisfying to have been able to go there and deliver a state-of-the-art facility."

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What do you think sets Elmtree apart from other builders?

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“What sets us apart is that I hold really high standards and have taken a really long time to find some of the best builders that I know, and that all have the same vision and hold each other accountable for the standards of work we produce. We really pride ourselves on our communication and transparency when we’re quoting and working.”

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What’s your vision for the future of Elmtree?

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“To continue to grow and deliver quality work to all of our customers. Our priority is that we never compromise the quality of our work and walk away with a customer that’s really enjoyed the experience. It’s so nice hearing how much they love the work that we do; there have been so many times we’ve finished a job and had customers say they miss having the guys on site, so this is something I want for us to continue to take into the future.

We’ve also been working on pushing timber frames and having opened our new workshop, this is something we’d really like to keep focusing on. We’ve built a great relationship with some local architects at CHY Studios and have been working on developing some new concepts for timber frames, so there’s lots of exciting stuff still to come!”

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If someone’s thinking about starting a building project but isn’t sure where to begin, what would you say to them?

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“If you’re looking at starting a new project, then come and speak to us. We can take care of absolutely everything from planning permission to budgeting to detailed quotations. So, come and sit down and have a chat with us, and without a shadow of a doubt, we can get your project going and make your dreams come to life!”

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