Pimlico Plumbers has continued the expansion of its London headquarters with the acquisition of new commercial railway arch space for a dedicated apprenticeship training centre.
The training facility, located opposite Pimlico’s Sail Street headquarters, is the 10th South London railway arch occupied by the company, taking its total footprint to around 80,000ft2.
It follows the purchase of five railway arches and a service yard in Newport Street, Lambeth, in 2020, which provided 15,000ft2. for extra workshop and equipment storage requirements, as well as new vehicle detailing and wrapping for its fleet of around 350 vans, trucks, and cars.
This latest expansion will support the continued growth of the business, which, in the last year, recorded its most successful year, despite the pandemic, with a turnover close to £50m.
As a result, Pimlico has been on a recruitment drive, adding experienced engineers and head office support team members to its workforce to meet the increasing demand for its services.
The apprenticeship training centre will support Pimlico’s recognised strategy to increase the number of skilled people entering the home services industry. Currently with more than 70 apprentices on its books, Pimlico has the ambition to pair each of its 350 engineers with a trainee. It is also currently recruiting its next intake of apprentices, who will begin training after the summer.
The centre has been developed over several years, beginning as a training area within the Sail Street head office, and has evolved over time in size and scale to now occupy a dedicated space with capacity to train 12 apprentices at the same time.
Featuring a fully operational kitchen and bathroom, complete with a working boiler, the training centre is part of Pimlico’s provision of the theory and practical skills required to qualify as a trade apprentice, alongside the opportunity to work with the company’s highly skilled team of tradespeople in disciplines such as plumbing and heating, electrics, carpentry, and construction.
Scott Mullins, CEO of Pimlico, said: “The astonishing pace of our growth means we need more space to house our expanding workforce and the services we provide to maintain the high levels of service we offer our customers. The railway arches have given us the capacity we need, including the creation of our new apprenticeship training centre.
“It reaffirms our commitment to our celebrated apprenticeship scheme and means we will be able give our trainees as much extra training as they need. It will help them excel in their chosen trade and ensure Pimlico remains the number one home services company in the capital.
“As most people will know, Pimlico was built by a former apprentice, my dad, Charlie Mullins, and he has always been driven to ensure that apprenticeships remain at the forefront of the business, because completing one set him on the road to success.
“It has been the dream of our whole family to continue our support for aspiring heating engineers and plumbers everywhere by creating a dedicated training centre.
“Now, I’m delighted to say it has finally materialised and will help us expand our talent pool of young people, who in turn will continue to help Pimlico continue to grow.”
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