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Estimator - New Build, Refurb & Fit Out | Essex | Permanent

The Role:
This is a hands-on Estimator role where you'll be trusted to take projects from drawings through to detailed cost plans, tenders, and subcontractor procurement. You'll play a key role in pricing work, preparing Bills of Quantities, and supporting commercial delivery from pre-contract through to handover.

Perfect for someone who's either ready to step up with support, or already confident enough to hit the ground running in a busy pre-construction environment.

The Projects:
• Mixture of new build, refurbishment, and fit out schemes across London and the South East
• Values ranging from £500k - £10m+
• Schemes delivered for repeat clients across commercial, residential, and mixed-use sectors
• Tenders prepared using Bluebeam for measurement and Excel-based cost plans (no complex estimating software)

What they're looking for:
• Estimator with 4-5+ years' experience in the construction industry
• Background in new build, refurb, or fit out projects (main contractor or subcontractor)
• Confident preparing BoQs, cost estimates, tender returns, and subcontractor comparisons
• Strong eye for detail, organised, and able to meet deadlines in a fast-moving environment
• Driving licence essential for client/site visits
• Ambitious and collaborative - fits well into a young, sociable team where everyone pulls together

The Company:
This is a privately owned main contractor with expertise across construction, development, and consultancy. With a strong track record and a fast-growing pipeline, they are known for their collaborative approach, client focus, and high-quality delivery.

The team is young, ambitious, and values-driven, with a strong social culture and a flat, supportive structure. Their environment suits someone who enjoys being busy, thrives in a close-knit office, and wants to be part of a business that's growing quickly.

Also known as: Assistant Estimator, Intermediate Estimator, Project Estimator, Quantity Surveyor/Estimator

Interested? Let's talk - no pressure.
Michael Ogunyankin | 07551 155 789 | michael @ borneltd . com

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Quantity Surveyor (Package level QS) - £60m Cut & Carve…

Permanent Quantity Surveyor required for a £60m Cut and Carve Refurbishment in the City of London. Could also be known as Package Managing QS or Intermediate QS. Minimum 18 months remaining on site.

We're partnering with a London fit out & refurbishment expert who's been giving commercial spaces a glow-up since before anyone thought to call it Cat B'. For context: when they first started, Bill Haley was busy rocking around the clock, Churchill still had the keys to Number 10, and you could pick up a house for about two grand. In short - they've been in the game a long time.

People who are / have / is…
·Grafters - organised, dependable, and always two steps ahead. Know accountability isn't a buzzword, it's how you safeguard the finances on a job.
·A communicator who can keep it clear and keep it honest
·Not someone to shy away from tough conversations.
·Grown with their past employers - not jumped ship every other season

Why do people want to work here?
·Pedigree: Projects from £50k to £60m across healthcare, workplaces, retail, leisure & education. Trust: A £100m + turnover business with a 90% repeat client base - the sort of company clients actually come back to.
·People first: 160+ staff, 20+ of whom have stayed for over a decade - a level of loyalty you don't usually see outside of Labradors.
·Principles: Responsibility, clarity, honest conversations, and looking out for each other.
·Sustainability: Carbon Neutral+ for over 6yrs
·Remuneration: They pay well. Very well.

I know this ad's had a bit of fun, but I'm a serious recruiter, working with a serious contractor, on a seriously good opportunity.

Spencer Wade
07920 489522
[email protected]

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Quantity Surveyor (Refurb & Conservation) | Central London | Permanent | Immediate

If you can price a brick and explain a box gutter, read on.

You'll suit this if you:
• Started on the tools (carpentry or similar) or you've spent serious time on scaffold, not just in spreadsheets.
• Know what a box gutter is, how a roof goes together, and what happens before/after the scaffold goes up.
• Can talk brick bonds, temporary works, CAT scans (cable avoidance), propping, and sequencing without phoning a friend.
• Enjoy getting out to site, walking the job, and controlling the numbers because you understand the build.

The Work (real examples, not buzzwords):
• Live refurb & conservation of listed/period assets across Central London.
• Section 20 mansion blocks, façade retention, structural cut & carve, high-spec commercial refurb.
• Values mostly £150k-£2m (some £2-3m+) with tricky access, neighbours, and logistics.

Where you add instant value:
• Valuations & variations grounded in what's actually buildable this week.
• Scoping packages with an eye for temporary works, access, waste routes, and build sequencing.
• Sitting with PM/SM and agreeing the method before you agree the money.
• Final accounts that stand up because you understood the detail on day one.

Litmus Test (be honest with yourself):
• Could you explain to a client how you'd remove two internal columns to create a big retail space, at least at outline method level (temp works, propping, sequencing, back-propping, steel install, finishes make-good)?
• Do you know today's ballpark price of common bricks and what might move it?
• Can you sketch how you'd detail a box gutter tie-in on a refurb roof and the risks to watch for?
If you're nodding, you'll likely fly here.

About the Contractor:
• 30 years in high-quality restoration & conservation, ~£13m turnover.
• 16-18 live projects; core trades in-house (restorers, stonemasons, decorators); roofs/M&E/specialist packages subbed but tightly managed.
• Tight, practical team who back people that take ownership.

What you've probably done:
• 3-5+ years post-grad QS (or more) with real site exposure-ideally carpentry/trade background.
• Refurb/conservation experience ideal, but solid builder's eye matters more.
• Confident with take-offs, CVRs, valuations, variations, budgets, accruals, and closing final accounts.
• Happy up a scaffold, in a plant room, or over drawings with an SE.

Progression & Package:
• Chance to own fewer, higher-value jobs with complex commercial oversight.
• Path to lead QS/commercial manager as you grow.
• Competitive salary/benefits, plus the autonomy to run your jobs like you mean it.

No long cover letter needed. Let's talk-no pressure.
Michael Ogunyankin · 07551 155 789 · michael @ borneltd . com