Case study: Leeds Beckett University

Leeds Beckett University has more than 24,000 students located across two campuses in Headingley and the city centre.

The history of Headingley Campus can be traced back to the mid-12th century, through to the landowner and Leeds banker William Beckett before it became the City of Leeds Training College in 1913. The founding of Leeds Mechanics Institute in 1824 was once housed in what is now the Leeds City Museum, which marks the origins of the modern-day Leeds Beckett University.

The University is always growing and developing, and engaged the help of Business Moves Group with a recent relocation project. We have supported Leeds Beckett for the best part of a decade, so they know what to expect when they work with us.

Support during a refurbishment

BMG supported Leeds Beckett with the temporary relocation and storage of items from teaching and office spaces in Queens Square House and Portland Street while refurbishments took place. This included all furniture, IT equipment and personal items, which were taken into storage at the BMG Leeds depot until work was complete. Personal items were either packed into small boxes of busi bags and labelled with the employee’s name and room number at the new location.

We worked closely with the University estates team throughout the project to discuss how to carry out the moves in the most cost-effective way possible that would also limit disruption to students and staff.

We had a very small window of opportunity to clear all the floors of furniture and personal effects. There were also several other contractors trying to complete their works at the same time, so we did not have uninterrupted access to lifts and access points. All contractors pulled together to devise a solution to makes sure the program was delivered on time. This included daily briefings to plan lift usage and clearance of agreed rooms and floors.

Once all the refurbishment works were completed, furniture items were cherry picked from storage to accommodate the excellent new teaching spaces created. 60 per cent of furniture was delivered back to the site, and the rest was donated to the RSPCA and Business2Schools. As with all projects, we strive to ensure that nothing goes to landfill.

We understand the University is forever growing and adapting its way of teaching, so we are flexible in our approach and execution of projects.

Client feedback

“We are really pleased to be working with BMG. We have a busy programme of works this Summer and the service that is provided by BMG is always of high standard. BMG work closely with all of our teams in Estates and Facilities to ensure we are utilising their services efficiently, and often suggest combining works to bring down overall cost and resource. We look forward to another busy summer working with the team.”

• Victoria Riley– space and asset data manager, estates & facilities, Leeds Beckett University

Higher education relocation specialists

BMG are relocation specialists with a proven track record of delivering education relocations within tight timeframes and within budget.

Graham Hardy and Gareth Smith are BMG’s north England contacts and managed the contract process and project management with Leeds Beckett University. Find out more about our northern region operations on our website.

Contact us today to discuss how we can support your relocation.