Fostering growth in every postcode is entrenched in the ethos of the Wates Group, a leading development, building and property maintenance company founded in 1897.

With roots in the housing industry in the London suburbs, Wates has grown into a £2.5 billion turnover business, employing more than 6,000 people, with a presence across the UK.

Everywhere that Wates sets up project offices to complete a building, maintenance or development project, it aims to leave a lasting social impact on the local community. In 2025, Wates generated £464 million in social value across all its projects by supporting people ‘furthest from work’, creating learning and development opportunities for young people, supporting and scaling social enterprises, and other local activities.

 

Being Brilliant Locally

The company’s relationship with local communities where it has permanent offices is particularly important. At the Wates Group headquarters in Leatherhead, Surrey, the business seeks to be an engaged, responsible neighbour, using its long-term presence to form partnerships that deliver sustained value.

This commitment is encapsulated in the Brilliant Locally initiative, a core pillar of the Wates 10-year social value strategy.

While being close to the local community has always been important to the business, Brilliant Locally marks a shift towards a more formal, intentional strategy to embed the business in the community — deeply invested, visibly active, and committed to leaving a legacy that delivers on the company’s purpose of reimagining places for people to thrive.

Currently running in Leatherhead, the Brilliant Locally programme will initially be rolled out to five offices where Wates has a significant employment presence by 2030.

 

Investing in Leatherhead

The investments in the Leatherhead community have included:

• Developing a partnership with HMP Send, a women’s prison just a few miles from the Wates office that supports women who often face complex challenges. In partnership with the prison and the Ministry of Justice, Wates has refurbished a three-bed property to transform it into a home environment with a vision for it to be used by eligible women to spend meaningful time with their children in a private, calm setting – cooking, doing homework, simply being together. The renovation work also gave 15 young people who are not in employment, education or training (NEET) the opportunity to gain hands‑on construction experience and formal trade qualifications.

 

• Working with Therfield School, located in an area of north Leatherhead that needs significant investment and support. The support, in partnership with fellow local employer KBR, focuses on early intervention and equips young people who are at risk of not fulfilling their potential after year 11 with the tools, skills and motivation to make informed choices about their futures.

 

• Investing £15,000 in the Leatherhead Business Improvement District to support Leatherhead’s regeneration and long-term economic growth. This includes directly supporting local retailers and working with Police and community partners to deliver crime prevention measures and rapid response support.

 

Tim Wates, Chairman of the Wates Group, said:

As they say in the North, “if you ain’t local, you ain’t nowt”. The Wates business has always been about places – not just about the buildings we develop, build and maintain, but also the communities where we come together to work.

The Wates Family has deep Surrey roots and Leatherhead is hugely important to us – it’s been our headquarters since 2003 and it really feels like home. And our ambition is to formalise that same bond with the community – to be Brilliant Locally – everywhere we work.”