The Stonewest Group of companies have reached, in principle, agreement with Sir Robert McAlpine for conservation specialists St Blaise Ltd to continue trading, becoming part of the Stonewest Group.

They will consolidate in improved, 500m2 premises near their existing location in Dorchester. Most of St Blaise\'s employees will be retained. Ten people will work at the Dorchester premises and a further 10 site management staff will be retained, along with the tradesmen on site. As at other Stonewest businesses, the site staff will be employed directly, not sub-contracted.

St Blaise Ltd will continue the conservation work for which they are well known and, while they will trade independently and autonomously, will benefit from the considerable resources and complimentary skills of Stonewest\'s specialist restoration, cleaning, new build and principal contracting disciplines.

Both Gary Jones, St Blaise\'s director of operations, and Ian Constantinides, who was managing director, believe that being part of the Stonewest Group will offer both companies the opportunity to capitalise on the synergy of the skills that each company has demonstrated in the market.

Ian Constantinides, who founded St Blaise in 1982, says: "I always knew that one and one can make more than two!"

Gary, who has been with St Blaise for 10 years, will be responsible for all operational matters while Ian will concentrate on securing new work and maintaining their technical excellence. He will also continue St Blaise\'s consultancy activities.

David Marshall, the chairman of Stonewest, says he will be responsible for the initial phase of incorporating St Blaise into Stonewest. "Initially, I will spend three days a week down there," he says. All accounting and administration functions will move to Stonewest\'s headquarters in Croydon.

Ian Constantinides confirms that St Blaise\'s aims remain unchanged - "to provide our clients with the very best of our experience, working for the very best, on the very best".

He says he is greatly looking forward to doing this "with a new found simplicity, verve, 20 years of experienceÖ and the enthusiasm and significant support of Stonewest".

For his part, Kevin Reuter, MD of Stonewest, says: "The aim at Stonewest is continuous improvement in everything we do. The intention is to enable the highly skilled St Blaise conservators, whose experience is second to none, to concentrate on their core activities and provide the services they do best."

The move constitutes the next distinct stage in the Stonewest development plan implemented since the management buy-out in 2001 (see NSS June 2001).

Both Kevin Reuter and Ian Constantinides were full of praise for the exceptionally creative and supportive position taken by Cullum McAlpine and his team from Sir Robert McAlpine. David Marshall says: "I have seldom come across a group that\'s as helpful and . . . it\'s a much maligned word, but as caring as Sir Robert McAlpine." Critical people will remain with McAlpine to finish existing contracts.

Rose of Jerico, the specialist mortar arm of St Blaise, has been spun off as a management buy-out headed by managing director Peter Ellis. St Blaise envisage retaining a close relationship with Rose of Jerico.