Case studies
Golden Jubilee Eye Hospital
We successfully delivered the £2.9m installation of mechanical, electrical, and public health plumbing services (MEP) for a new eye care centre at the Golden Jubilee National Hospital in Clydebank, Scotland.
The Catalyst
We undertook the installation and commissioning of all mechanical, electrical and plumbing works for The Catalyst, a new purpose-built home for the National Innovation Centre for Ageing (NICA), National Innovation Centre for Data (NICD) and the National Institute for Health Research Innovation Observatory (NIHRIO) in Newcastle.
UK Battery Industrialisation Centre (UKBIC)
Working as Principal Contractor, we completed the fast-paced installation of mechanical and electrical (M&E) services at UK Battery Industrialisation Centre (UKBIC), the UK’s new £130m prestigious battery development facility. UKBIC is a pioneering concept in the race to develop battery technology for the transition to a greener future.
Nightingale Hospitals Initiative
We were proud to support the fight against coronavirus by working collectively with key partners throughout the industry to create several Nightingale hospitals across the UK. Both our Engineering and Services divisions came together to deliver field hospitals in Manchester, Harrogate, Cardiff, Deeside and Bangor.
Warwick University Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research Building
The development of the Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research Building (IBRB) at the University of Warwick is an outstanding example of collaboration and modern methods of construction. The £54.3m project is being completed to world-class, industry-leading standards with at least 50% using offsite construction.
Dagenham Data Centre
Our Freedom team was appointed to design and build an 80 MVA 132kV connection to a new data centre in the UK Power Networks region. To facilitate the connection to an existing 132kV OHL terminal tower, Freedom installed its new point of connection mast - POC-MAST™ which provided a quicker and cheaper final connection point.
University Hospital of North Tees – Energy Centre
We operated as Principal Contractor on this scheme, to create a new £14m energy centre at the University Hospital of North Tees. The project saw ageing infrastructure replaced with more reliable and efficient equipment, reducing the Trust’s energy consumption and providing capacity for future development.
Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Q-Floor Operating Theatres, Sheffield
We played a key role in a £4.5m programme to create four new operating theatres and a recovery area to replace ageing facilities at Sheffield’s Royal Hallamshire Hospital. We have a long history with Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, having worked with them since 2002 on numerous prestige projects across the city campus including renovation its Q floor which was opened in 2019.
Media City, Manchester
MediaCityUK is home to five national BBC departments alongside regional broadcasting teams. It houses one of the largest high definition studio facilities in Europe. We delivered the complete mechanical and electrical building services installation including a building management system, fire, security and access systems as well as specialist and temperature controls. It was the fastest project we have ever completed, with £67m of works delivered in 20 months.
The Diamond, University of Sheffield
The Diamond is the University of Sheffield’s hub for engineering students. The iconic building houses specialist teaching facilities for engineering as well as lecture theatres, seminar rooms, a library and more than 1,000 study spaces. We delivered all mechanical and electrical installations which included a number of specialist systems such as industrial gas and ventilation services and intelligent lighting systems.
Living Systems Institute, University of Exeter
The Living Systems Institute is pioneering new approaches to understanding diseases and how they can be better diagnosed; informing more effective treatment strategies for some of the most severe diseases facing humanity. We worked alongside BAM Construction to design, build and install mechanical and electrical solutions for the new building, including a new energy-efficient ventilation system.
Arla Foods, Aylesbury
Arla’s £150 million flagship dairy in Aylesbury is the biggest in Europe and one of the most environmentally advanced in the world, with the capacity to process one billion litres of milk a year. We were contracted to provide all heavy industrial services associated with the mechanical and electrical work, as well as the facilities management contract, on this new processing facility built on what was farmers’ fields.
Luton DART
We are installing all mechanical and electrical equipment on the new Luton DART (Direct Air Rail Transit) project at Luton Airport, which includes lighting, ventilation, communications, SCADA data control systems, fire detection systems and building management system for the new state-of-the-art guided mass passenger transit system. The systems, which border Luton Parkway Station and Luton Airport are made up of over 30km of electrical cabling and around 2.5km of fire hydrant pipework. When complete, it will transport passengers from Luton Parkway train station to the terminal of Luton Airport in under four minutes.
Southampton Football Club
We provided a fully comprehensive mechanical, electrical, and building fabric maintenance service at St Mary’s Stadium and the club’s Staplewood training facility. Support was also provided as the club developed its sustainability strategy to reduce its use of energy, water, and other resources. For their sustainability strategy, the HALO Effect, we have delivered a LED lighting upgrade across the reception area, which has resulted in an 83% reduction in energy use in the area. We are also working to deliver a hand dryer proposal to remove all paper towels and non-efficiency hand dryers by replacing them with more efficient dryers.
Northern Line Extension
We are installing some of the mechanical, electrical and power services for the new Northern Line Extension (NLE) Tube tunnels, which run between the Kennington loop and a new station at Battersea, with another station being built midway at Nine Elms. Our works include installing bracketry, power, lighting, and mechanical pipework in the 3km long tunnels, as well as testing and commissioning. The NLE will help regenerate the Vauxhall, Nine Elms and Battersea areas by supporting new jobs and homes.
Manchester Town Hall
We are supporting the refurbishment and partial restoration of Manchester’s prestigious town hall. The ‘Our Town Hall’ project for Manchester City Council will protect this grade I listed building, which dates back to 1877. Work is underway on the project and sees us undertaking the removal and replacement of all mechanical, electrical and plumbing services. Working together with our Engineering division, our Offsite Manufacture and IT Services business units have played an integral part in the tender process and this close working relationship will continue throughout the project.
Manchester Engineering Campus Development (MECD)
We are playing a key role in the development of MECD, which is set to become the single-biggest home for engineering in any UK university. Working alongside Balfour Beatty to deliver the project on behalf of the University of Manchester, our works include the installation of all the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing elements over eight floors, equating to 76,000m2. Once completed it will house the University of Manchester’s engineering disciplines, teaching spaces and research institutes, and more than 6,700 students and 1,250 staff will be based there.
Aberdeen Royal Infirmary
We played a key role in delivering a new £110m Electrical Care Centre at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, which was constructed on a challenging live site with limited space and access.
The Christie NHS Foundation Trust
Treating around 50,000 patients a year, The Christie Hospital is one of Europe’s leading cancer centres. Located in Manchester and managed by The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, it not only serves a population of 3.2m people across Greater Manchester and Cheshire, but as a national specialist sees more than a quarter of patients referred to it from other parts of the country.
Nationwide Building Society
As a leader in integrated IT and managed services in the commercial and data centre sectors, we transform what’s possible in connectivity, data management and analysis. A standout example of this expertise in action is through our work with Nationwide Building Society on behalf of its main client BT.
EV Connectivity
Our electric vehicle infrastructure offer is meeting the increasing needs of businesses and wider society looking for vehicle charging solutions as part of the drive towards a cleaner, greener and more responsible energy future.
Genesis Cancer Care Centre
In November 2023, we successfully handed over the Genesis Cancer Care Centre to VINCI Construction, located within the campus of the Royal Surrey Hospital.
Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust
Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust supports a workforce of more than 300 staff, including nurses, therapists, pharmacists and clinicians.
Birmingham New Street
We played an integral part of the transformation of Birmingham New Street station, replacing the engine room that sits at the heart of the railway station’s operations and carries all the mechanical and electrical services to each of its platforms. The age and infrastructure of the station ruled out traditional on-site construction so our offsite manufacturing facility was used to develop the biggest offsite design and build solution in our history. Nicknamed ‘The Spine’, it spanned the width of the station, measuring 7m wide, 3m high and 126m long, weighing 300 tonnes.
Defence Business Internet
Defence Business Internet (DBI) is a flexible working solution for the Ministry of Defence, providing Wi-Fi infrastructure and mobility solutions to let people work anywhere, at any time.
University of York Energy Centre
We helped play a key role in the delivery of the new energy centre, at the University of York as part of their Heslington Campus East. The expansion of its current energy centre allows the university to increase the energy supply to its growing campus.
Brentford Community Football Stadium
Built primarily for Brentford Football Club and the local community, Brentford Community Stadium is a state-of-the-art venue with a capacity of 17,250, including facilities for corporate entertainment and the media.
Anglian Water
Working as Principal Contractor, we delivered an off-the-shelf product range of new pumping stations. The total cost saving of delivering this product, including design and engineering time, is over 35%, compared to traditional methods.
University of Sheffield - The Faculty of Social Sciences building
We were part of the team designing the new University of Sheffield Faculty of Social Sciences building. Creating a world class, low energy, sustainable building that encourages collaboration and enhances the Faculty’s reputation for excellence in teaching and research.
Wembley Stadium
We are providing a full range of planned preventative and reactive mechanical and electrical maintenance services, ensuring the famous stadium’s estate operates smoothly and efficiently.
Chesterfield Urgent & Emergency Care Department
A brand new Urgent and Emergency Care unit at Chesterfield Hospital. The new development provides a state-of-the-art environment that enables the hospital to transform its urgent and emergency care services. The scheme also included an extension and refurbishment of the Paediatric Assessment Unit.
Scurf Dyke
Freedom was contracted to install a 132kV POC-MAST™ tee-off connection on the Northern Powergrid's 132kV OHL network. The POC-MAST™ connected a 49.9MW solar PV farm near Driffield in the East Riding area of Yorkshire. Originally, a traditional solution involving a replacement 132kV tower was planned as the Point of Connection (POC). This approach would have required a temporary diversion of the Overhead Line (OHL) to facilitate the new tower being built – a time-consuming and costly process.
St Osyth Solar Farm
The POC-MAST™ provided a safe, cost-effective solution ensuring working at height was minimised. Although this was the first time this solution was used in the UK, the design and installation were safely delivered to time and programme. It also reduced the 33kV cable connection length by 350m.
Former RAF Lyneham Base Solar Farm
This project saw a POC-MAST™ installed for a 70MW solar farm. The 213-acre solar farm at the former RAF Lyneham base in Wiltshire has been developed by SSEN with the Ministry of Defence. The location, next to a wooded area, presented several challenges, meaning that it was initially presumed that the permanent connection would require the installation of a new pylon, the diversion of an overhead line and the removal of part of the woodland.
20 Fenchurch Street
More commonly known as the ‘Walkie Talkie’ building, 20 Fenchurch Street is a landmark skyscraper providing prime office space in the heart of the City of London. We delivered a highly customised service that met all the requirements of the mechanical services package, which included the supply, delivery, positioning, installation, testing, commissioning and setting to work of mechanical systems.
AMRC Factory 2050
A state-of-the-art development that has kept Sheffield at the cutting edge of advanced manufacturing. Focusing on making a significant difference to the advanced manufacturing sector, this centre of excellence was the UK's first fully reconfigurable assembly and component manufacturing facility for collaborative research. We delivered the mechanical and electrical design and our offsite manufacturing facility was also utilised on the project.
BBC Broadcasting House
We were commissioned to transform the entire core of this iconic building’s IT infrastructure, as part of the redevelopment of one of the world’s largest live broadcast centres. The building was fitted with high performance fibre and coax which covered nearly 30,000sqm, which was all delivered within an extremely tight timeframe. Integration with the BBC’s existing IT infrastructure was key to ensure there was no disruption to service.
BCU Curzon and Parkside Campus
Birmingham City University's city centre campus is evolving into a heart of excellence and a state-of- the-art student-focused facility. We were tasked with integrating the specialist systems across the existing services with the new full mechanical, electrical and plumbing services installed within both Parkside and Curzon buildings. Innovation was integral and we developed a proactive approach that was successfully implemented on both buildings. Due to the compact nature of the site, our offsite manufacturing facility was utilised to produce pipework, as well as other prefabricated elements.
Belfast Waterfront
We delivered IT infrastructure services on this IP-converged solutions project, which equipped the newly expanded Belfast Waterfront conference and entertainment venue with smart building connectivity, security and safety, enabling a world-class visitor experience. Close collaboration at the design stage enabled us to propose a systems architecture that would both exceed the client’s requirements and support a flexible approach to installation, ensuring all IT works could be managed as part of a complex and multifaceted build schedule.
Birmingham Airport
This project forms part of the airport’s HV maintenance framework. Our Freedom business has been appointed to carry out the HV maintenance and HV upgrades to ensure there are no unplanned outages and 100% resilience to their network. They also provide annual inspections and full maintenance over the course of the contract and as part of the planned work any defects identified are completed during separate visits to site. Additionally, the site is covered by their 24 hour emergency call out service.
Bloomberg European HQ
We formed part of the team that worked on the construction of Bloomberg's new European Headquarters, located in the heart of the City of London. We delivered all structured cabling, two data centres, a media data centre, a full in-building mobile phone DAS system and an extensive integrated cold aisle containment system that enhanced energy efficiency for the building designed by renowned architect, Lord Foster.
Chubb Group
We deliver planned preventative mechanical and electrical maintenance, together with a 24 hour reactive maintenance service to 10 of the company’s buildings, amounting to over 26,000m² of office space across the UK. The contract also includes the provision of emergency and reactive call-outs, covering engineering services, installations and fabric support.
EHV Ferrybridge to Monckton
Our Freedom business was appointed by Northern Powergrid to carry out the complete rebuild of 70 Extra High Voltage (EHV) steel Woodhouse masts covering approximately 10km of overhead line that runs between Ferrybridge (275/66/11KV grid supply point) and Monckton (66/11KV Primary Sub Masts) in Yorkshire. The work involved taking down the existing steel Woodhouse masts, removing the concrete foundations and replacing with a modern wood pole equivalent and modern aluminium alloy conductor, as close to the existing overhead line foot print as possible.
Forbury Place
Building No.2 is the final piece of the Forbury Place estate. This speculative office development, featuring the largest floorplates in the town centre, is part of Reading’s newest urban business district, transforming the area with global companies already occupying buildings 1 and 3. We delivered mechanical and electrical installations for 17,800sqm of commercial space across 8 floors. Our installation also helped to achieve the energy efficiency aspirations of the project.
Grosvenor House, Sheffield
Grosvenor House is a seven-storey landmark development in the heart of Sheffield city centre, which includes c.22,500m2 of office space and c.8,500m2 of retail space and public areas, creating an exciting new area for commercial, retail, leisure and residential tenants. Delivering large construction and engineering schemes in a busy city centre environment presents many challenges, which we overcame by using our specialist Offsite Manufacturing expertise helping to save time, improve safety and reduce disruption around the site. We also developed bespoke Mechanical Electrical Plumbing (MEP) service module solutions enabling the fast-track project to be delivered within a tight one-year timescale.
Hutchison Ports Felixstowe
Our Freedom business delivers port infrastructure services on this civil engineering term maintenance contract, including hard standing block maintenance, ground works and drainage, roads maintenance including line marking, fencing, demolition, and minor civils work. Service delivery is based on both planned and reactive works delivery 24/7, 365 days per year. Due to the location of the site and the requirement of working in an extremely active and controlled environment, attention to health and safety compliance and ensuring there is no disruption to the client’s core business forms a vital part of the works.
Jaguar Land Rover i54
This new engine factory for car giant Jaguar Land Rover was built on the i54 development on the outskirts of Wolverhampton. The new manufacturing facility doubled the size of the existing plant. We delivered all the mechanical and electrical services on the project and our offsite manufacturing facility was actively involved too, producing 67 heavy service modules and a number of other components.
Lambeth Town Hall
Lambeth New Town Hall was a landmark project for Lambeth Council and its residents. We were contracted to undertake the MEP services for the project using a team with a vast amount of experience delivering projects in the public sector. Sustainability was at the top of Lambeth Council’s agenda and this is an area where we really made a difference. Our five year sustainability strategy - One Approach - fully supported Lambeth Council’s sustainability targets for the project, which included creating new jobs, up to 45 new apprenticeships and a BREEAM 'Excellent' rating for the new Town Hall.
