Back from Dubai with an idea to bridge trade gulf

Sep 3 2009 by Andrew Mernin, The Journal

BEFORE the recession, Martyn Redshaw ensured the smooth running of a manmade development which is visible from space, home to the Beckhams and interconnected by an underwater motorway.

Donald Trump was just one of the famous hoteliers to set up a base there and it even housed the largest water park in the world.

However, when the recession sent shockwaves through the once-booming Arab city of Dubai, Northumberland-born Mr Redshaw’s post as the facilities manager of the ambitious Palm Jumeirah development was lost.

His employer – the government-owned developer Nakheel – had dissolved its asset management arm, meaning that Mr Redshaw, like many other expats in the Gulf, was forced to return home in search of work.

Fortunately, he returned to the region armed with an idea for a new concept in facilities management based on the lessons he had learned in the UAE.

And he has now launched a new business, Sincera, which he aims to build into a successful North East enterprise. The company, which will employ largely sub-contracted workers, will offer facilities management and maintenance services to homeowners, residential landlords and commercial property firms.

It also aims to fight the cause for local tradesmen who Mr Redshaw says often lose out to national corporations on projects in the region.

He said: “Too often in this region, local businesses and tradesmen are pushed to one side by the key corporations and investors in favour of larger national service providers.

“One of our goals is to bridge this divide by amalgamating local bodies into a larger group, with corporate experience and quality management systems that transform the individual trades into an efficient, competent and low-cost service provider, capable of competing for contracts that would previously be off their radar.”