With almost 160 years of family-owned heritage, Stepnell is a highly experienced complete construction partner, delivering maximum project quality and value for clients, while remaining a family business at heart.

We understand the unique drivers and challenges at work across a diverse range of sectors. This understanding fuels our mission to seamlessly provide complete end-to-end project services across design, build, project management, energy management and land / asset developments.

The Stepnell Group is a well-capitalised and financially resilient business, operating from seven offices in the East Midlands, Midlands and Southern England. With over £40m net assets, we have resources and infrastructure in place to deliver challenging projects up to£30m. However, we are more than that. We strive to add true value, anticipating risks and identifying new opportunities for our clients in education, residential, commercial, industrial, retail, healthcare, community, leisure and heritage sectors.

Establishing long-term and enduring relationships with organisations, based on shared values and our Teamship collaborative approach, has led to 75% of our turnover delivered through repeat business.

Clients benefit from our approach to early engagement, bringing in our supply chain to develop the best value response to their challenges. We work collaboratively proving performance through KPIs.

We are partners on over 14 key national and regional frameworks, including:

• SCAPE Regional Construction Framework
• Procure Partnerships Framework
• Crown Commercial Services - Construction
• Southern Construction Framework
• LHC – Public Buildings Construction and Infrastructure Framework
• NHS Shared Business Services
• Pagabo
• Constellia

Frameworks allow clients to work with us at a far earlier stage than traditional procurement routes, giving us the opportunity to understand and mitigate challenges before they occur and providing better value for money, while remaining fully compliant with procurement regulations.

Construction
Our construction teams deliver maximum project quality and value for clients across design, build and project management. Understanding your goals, aspirations and vision is our number one priority. Using our expertise, we provide customers with options, alternatives and possibilities to maximise each project’s potential.

Property
We manage for ourselves and offer clients the full suite of property management, including lease renewals, dilapidation, energy performance and management. We have a strong track record in delivery, planning permissions for long term retention into the portfolio or subsequent sale.

Development
We work on our portfolio of properties as well as third parties, carrying out full development activities from land purchase, planning permission, business case preparation and construction. This includes both new build and refurbishment in commercial, industrial and residential sectors.

Step Energy
Offers targeted support with developing and delivering energy saving strategies and carbon reduction ambitions, through the implementation of renewable and efficient energy technologies. With a focus on identifying the best technology to suit individual needs and managing the successful install, commissioning and monitoring of the solutions, ensuring they are providing the best possible outcome for clients.

Joinery Workshop
We operate a specialist joinery workshop with an in-house team of time served craftspeople. We are able to offer joinery of the highest quality to any part of the UK. Our skilled team specialise in one off commissions and have a full design capability that enables us to respond quickly to clients’ needs.

Concrete repairs
Our concrete repairs team has decades of experience in this specialist sector. Whether it be crack repair, corrosion protection, remediation or strengthening, we can survey, design and execute works to the highest standards. Current clients include National Grid, working across the transmission system via a long-standing framework.

Step to Zero
‘Step to Zero’ is a bespoke process developed by Stepnell to draw out the sustainability opportunities within a project at the earliest possible stage, maximising their potential for our clients. In the context of the worldwide Climate and Ecology Emergency, we work with our clients to develop a logical road map to achieve Net Zero projects, while minimising natural resource use and waste, enhancing biodiversity, and obtaining benchmark certifications.

Located in Infinity Park, Derby, a major national centre for industry and innovation, the UK’s latest Nuclear AMRC is a purpose built industrial manufacturing nuclear research and development facility with ancillary office core, dedicated first floor office, associated service yard, car parking and external works.

The new centre focuses on later-stage development in technology areas, which will deliver the maximum impact for the UK’s nuclear supply chain, and act as a regional base for Nuclear AMRC’s supply chain development programme. The building has a total area of around 4,300 square metres, including a large open-plan workshop with 10 metre ceilings and 50 tonne cranes to allow work on large fabrications and assemblies, and dedicated laboratories for 3D printing and rapid prototyping, virtual reality and visualisation, and equipment qualification.

Nuclear AMRC Midlands provides a permanent base in Derby for the University of Sheffield’s Nuclear AMRC, part of the UK’s High Value Manufacturing Catapult, and a new home for the University of Derby’s Institute for Innovation in Sustainable Engineering (IISE).

Nuclear AMRC Midlands follows a pilot facility in Infinity Park’s iHub building, which Nuclear AMRC opened in February 2019. They worked with regional partners to build the new bespoke research facility, securing secured £6.85 million from central government in August 2020. Stepnell Ltd started construction of Nuclear AMRC Midlands in March 2022, and completed in April 2023.

Nuclear AMRC Midlands forms part of a developing nuclear cluster on Infinity Park alongside Rolls-Royce’s Nuclear Skills Academy. They worked with Rolls-Royce and partners to establish the new academy at iHub, which is now training 200 apprentices a year for Rolls-Royce’s submarine propulsion business. The Academy is also supported by the National College for Nuclear, the University of Derby and Derby City Council.

The research centre will advance manufacturing capabilities for sustainable energy using a range of pioneering technologies. With energy prices now at record levels, Nuclear AMRC Midlands will help guide the manufacturing industry through the energy transition and facilitate growth in a carbon-neutral economy.

NAMRC achieved an ‘excellent performance’ score of 43/45 from the Considerate Constructors Scheme, 14/15 for respecting the community and care for the environment and 15/15 for valuing Stepnell’s workforce.

Development partners: The NAMRC was constructed by Stepnell Ltd for the government-backed Infinity Park Derby (IPD), a unique collaboration between the University of Derby, Derby City Council, Wilson Bowden, Peveril Securities, the Harpur Crewe Estate and Rolls-Royce and developers IPD LLP, with over £9 million funding from the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership. All joinery inside the welcome area was designed and crafted by Stepnell’s Joinery Workshop.

A £2 million charity funded Wellbeing Hub providing space dedicated to boosting mental and physical wellbeing for up to 400 employees at Chesterfield Royal Hospital (CRH) NHS Foundation Hospital. The building was opened as part of the 75th anniversary celebrations of the NHS.

Using its extensive building expertise, the Stepnell team was responsible for design elements and fast-track delivery of the purpose-built facility. It includes a state-of-the-art gym, counselling rooms, areas for complimentary therapies and group or individual reflections after traumatic incidents.

The finished Hub benefitted from Stepnell’s whole team working approach to develop and finalise the design with consultants and subcontractors – including Southgate and Sarabia Architects, MAC Consulting and Adept Consulting Engineers – to best meet the client’s budget. BIM coordination software was used in tandem with OneClick to enhance project discussions and engage early with the hospital Trust.

Procured via the NHS Shared Business Services framework, and achieving the RIBA 2030 Climate Challenge embodied carbon target for 2025, the project is an example of how excellence can be achieved for the public sector across both sustainability and build quality.

Stepnell’s work on the prestigious project featured a bespoke social value strategy, which included creating jobs for three local people, as well as organising fundraising events and carrying out significant social value work within the local community.

Over the course of the project, more than 100 hours of support into employment training was provided to Chesterfield College and Parkside Community School and a cumulative total of 47 weeks of training was provided for trainees and apprentices studying at Level 2, 3 and 4+. Furthermore, Stepnell committed to a local supply chain by ordering building materials within a 30-mile radius of the project, which achieved a 50% local spend, including 36% spend with local SMEs.

Designed by award-winning firm Lungfish Architects, with construction works by Stepnell, the two-form entry school will provide420 places. The new school demonstrates Harworth’s commitment, as part of the Harworth Way, to working with local authorities and other partners to create sustainable communities, with this facility set to benefit more than 1,000 residents soon to be living on the new residential development and those living in the wider area too.

The school will be built to a bespoke design based on forest school principles. Originating in Scandinavia, the forest school approach promotes education through play and activity while nurturing creativity through self-activity and investigation. To facilitate this, the school design consists of six single storey buildings, designed as a series of pavilions, which include teaching space as well as the school’s hall, kitchen, administration facilities and early years accommodation, all linked by way of a cloister. The teaching pavilions are organised around groups of four classrooms, offering much sought-after flexible teaching opportunities through a range of teaching spaces, such as group rooms and shared learning spaces.

Through the Crown Commercial Services Framework, Leicester City Council commissioned Stepnell to replace the existing roof covering at Aylestone Leisure Centre and install a new 1800m2 rooftop array of Solar Photovoltaic panels, enabling the Leisure Centre to self-generate a large percentage of their energy requirements, reducing demand on the local electricity network.

The project was partly funded through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and is linked to the Council Climate Emergency Action Plan, which is critical to helping reduce carbon emissions around our cities to provide a cleaner environment for Earth’s inhabitants.

Delivered by complete construction partner Stepnell and its energy group Step Energy, the 347kWp system comprises 828 PV panels and has generated 285MWh in the 12 months since its completion, surpassing its 250.8 MWh predictions. CO2 savings were also 12% greater than forecast, with the savings equating to planting 1,232 trees.

Based on the generation to date, annual cost savings are predicted to be circa £74,000, with the initial cost of installing the solar panels expected to be recouped through savings on electricity bills in approximately four years.

Aylestone Leisure Centre is also undergoing a major refurbishment to its entrance and studio, due to an investment of £1.94 million to develop more facilities within Leicester. The Leisure Centre offers a range of sporting activities, a 3G football pitch, swimming pools and gym.

9 Regan Way, Chetwynd Business Park, Nottingham. NG9 6RZ
Email eastmidlands@stepnell.co.uk
Tel: +44 (0)1156 979200