| The man emerging from the taxi cab on Upper Grosvenor Street and striding briskly across the sidewalk has a spring in his step. Séamus Cusack is focused and quietly confident about his role in the London building scene. He has good reason to be, for the company he believes in passionately is literally putting structure behind the elite lifestyles of London's international super-rich.
Refurbishing London's most luxurious apartmentsDoes he sell yachts? Sports cars? Haute couture? Actually not, for Michael Brady Ltd, for whom Cusack is an executive, is a builder. Not just any builder, but a specialist at refurbishing London's most luxurious residential apartments.The business works with such design eminences as Alfred Munkenbeck, Casson Conder, Weldon Walshe and Gavin Johnston-Stewart - and aspires to work with architectural gods such as Norman Foster. And then there are the developers and society estate agents: names like Capricorn Mayfair Ltd, Peter Wetherell and a host of others who, sometimes in public view but often behind shrouds of commercial secrecy, are the big fish in Mayfair's property development establishment. After 12 years, Brady and Cusack are up there with them, and still climbing vigorously in the rarified air of business territory orientated around the often unlimited financial resources of the super-rich. If you want to play in this game you need a good head for heights - and not just for checking out the latest multi-million pound lateralisation from the fourth floor penthouse. Each project realised with integritySuch has been Michael Brady Ltd's success in the gladiatorial arena arena of five- and ten-million pound apartment refurbishments that Cusack now believes they have built the most luxurious apartments in London in recent years. Each project has been realised with an integrity that some people believe is long gone from modern building - a trait that has already come to the attention of the national papers as witnessed by the company's September 2004 feature in The Independent's weekly property supplement. Yes, Michael Brady Ltd has arrived; an active, if sometimes behind-the-scenes, contributor to the lifestyles of London's wealthiest and most demanding property owners.Innovative co-operation with architects This is a business driven by the idea of 'building to perfection'. It's an idea underpinned by the philosophy that each project should be demonstrably better than the last. How do Brady and Cusack do it? The answer, as The Independent revealed, lies in the firm's innovative co-operation with architects, developers, clients and other stakeholders as well as through traditional craftsmanship and attention to detail. The Independent's property columnist Penny Jackson had good reason indeed to call them 'super builders'.In a world where old-fashioned values are too easily cast-off with the site rubbish and muck-away being hauled from another Park Lane kerb, Michael Brady Ltd builds exclusively in the upper echelons of the luxury refurbishment market. Cusack elaborates: "We still pride ourselves on the honesty, discretion and sheer reliability of our approach to building and refurbishing some of the finest properties in the world." It's an approach that has provided a solid foundation for the enduring relationships that Michael Brady Ltd has built with discerning clients and professional partners. The list is long. 'Repeat' and 'business' are familiar, indeed essential, words in Michael Brady's vocabulary. Regularly sought out by prominent names“We're acutely aware of the need to build and enforce credibility in our profession,” continues Cusack. “We're fortunate that we can be - and are - selective about whom we choose to work with. Once we've got a good relationship going we work hard to maintain it: whether it's with an architectural practice, a surveyor, another key professional in the development process or our residential neighbours in the West End. We wholeheartedly support initiatives such as the Considerate Builder Scheme. Remember that today's site neighbour could easily be next week's client. When you get to a certain level in this business it's so much more than hearty handshakes and just turning up with a ladder and a mixer in the back of a Mazda pickup. Because of our business ethos, we are regularly sought out by the most prominent names in London's property world. You can't ask for more than that.”The highest standards Cusack continues: “As a builder keen to protect a hard-earned reputation for substance and integrity, we personally guarantee that plans are delivered on time and to cost and that each project runs to schedule." It's quite a claim but a necessary differentiator for a builder whose projects demonstrate the highest standards expected at some of London's - indeed the world's - most prestigious addresses.”
No problem - Michael Brady has control.And that's not the only differentiator in the Michael Brady business armoury. Practicing what they preach about innovation and creativity, Michael Brady's team is constantly on the look out for new ways to add value. Is this mere lip service? Actually not as, for example, using technology that has until recently been used only on the largest commercial construction projects, the Wembley-based builder will soon be installing high-resolution webcams on the walls of W1's exclusive residential refurbishment projects.“It makes so much sense,” explains Cusack enthusiastically, “for an honest builder to promote technology that increases the transparency of the development process. With the cameras installed, architect, developer, builder and end-purchaser will be able to monitor the progress of an apartment from anywhere in the world. All they will need is a PC, Web access and a password.” The potential is amazing. Project manager in London? Architect in Paris? Client in Hong Kong? No problem - Michael Brady has control. Visit one of Michael Brady Ltd's projects and, inside or out, it is immediately evident that everything the company builds or installs reflects the standards of the world's most discerning clients. Cusack elaborates: “Naturally, our craftsmanship is matched to the finest materials. It's easy to see why our work has been featured in publications including RIBA Interiors, The Times Magazine, Terence Conran's Essential Handbook and now The Independent.” Customer satisfaction at the forefront Summing up the firm's position, Cusack finishes on a typically upbeat note: “A strong philosophy and the right approach to business is only as good as the end-result. For the whole Michael Brady Ltd team, customer satisfaction, in the most traditional sense of the word, is at the forefront of each building project from its initial stages until another delighted client accepts the keys. It's that simple, it really is. And it works.”By achieving the highest possible standards of quality and design, Michael Brady Ltd has earned many glowing commendations. Each of these is a hard-earned and justly deserved testimony to the refreshingly imaginative and personal approach that Michael Brady Ltd applies to every project. It's the stuff of building dreams and it's what puts the spring in Séamus Cusack's step as he hurries to close another deal somewhere deep in Mayfair's golden property triangle. |
