From the nub of an idea how to do procurement better by two council colleagues to being the leading construction framework provider – and now celebrating our 10th birthday. Ten years is a relatively short time in the construction industry, but it’s been a completely transformational decade for Pagabo.
And what better way than to celebrate not just Pagabo, but all those industry colleagues and friends that have played a key role in our success?
That’s exactly what we did, bringing together 150 people from across our ecosystem and the wider industry at Hull Minster – bedecked in the blue colours of our brand-new identity – for a celebration of our collective success.
Telling the tale
The idea for Pagabo came from Simon Toplass – now our Group CEO – and Jason Stapley – now our Chief Procurement Officer. Initially working together within local authorities, Simon and Jason knew there was a better, simpler way to do procurement – and so in 2013, Pagabo was born.
We launched multiple frameworks, many of which are now on their second or even third iteration, adapted to market demands with each generation. We became part of a bigger organisation along with Sypro, Loop and Tequ – now called the Pagabo Group – and refurbished a heritage building in central Hull to serve as our buzzing headquarters.
Since day one, social value has played a key role in everything we do – and the total social value enabled by our procurements in a decade totals more than £6.1 billion. We’re passionate about acting responsibly and ethically, and place great focus on identifying the ways in which we can continually give back to communities in meaningful ways.
Most importantly, we have built a network of the very best the industry has to offer – an ecosystem of clients, suppliers, colleagues and friends who are as committed to bettering the industry and the world as we are. The network is crucial to everything we do, so the evening was a fantastic opportunity to celebrate the success built together.
Highlighting the bigger picture
One of the other key successes from our first decade is the Pagabo Foundation, which is fast approaching its own 5th birthday later this year.
Set up under the leadership of our own Jason Stapley, the foundation brings together a board of trustees from across the sector – all working on leading the way in terms of improving mental health provision and support in construction. The industry has a longstanding reputation for a higher level of poor mental health, and being male dominated still has stereotypes to break down too.
With that focus on improving mental health and lives across our industry, we invited Andy’s Man Club to talk about the importance of talking as part of our event. With the core audience in the room and our passion for breaking down barriers, it was important for us to place focus on mental health during the evening – and having a successful organisation like Andy’s Man Club and hearing our speaker’s personal story gave our attendees pause for thought.
In the past five years, we are proud to have raised thousands of pounds through various initiatives, which has gone towards signposting support and funding Mental Health First Aid courses for people across the sector. We won’t be stopping the fundraising anytime soon, with the Feelgood Games returning to UKREiiF in Leeds once again this May.
Pagabo Awards 2024
As we’ve said, the evening wasn’t all about us – it was about our ecosystem and the industry-leading work delivered through collaboration between clients and suppliers on our frameworks. Naturally, that tied in our annual Pagabo Awards, which celebrate the excellent, game-changing projects procured through our suite of frameworks.
A huge number of projects worthy of awards were shortlisted in nine different categories, with members of our team giving out trophies designed by students at Ron Dearing Technical College, 3D printed to replicate the architecture of our headquarters.
And the winners are…
A closing note
The final thank you must go to our whole ecosystem – clients, suppliers, friends and colleagues – for building a decade of success together. As we close the door on our first decade and open the door on our second, the opportunities ahead of us are as exciting as ever, and we very much look forward to seeing the positive lasting legacy our industry will create together.
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