South Essex College

“Great futures start here” is the way that South East Essex College describes itself and thousands of students would agree. The college has come a long way since it was founded well before the Second World War and is today a modern, inspiring place to study for learners of all ages, from 14 to 19 year olds to undergraduates, adults and businesses. 

With a £40 million turnover the South East Essex College is also a sizeable business that is at home in the public sector but must also take a hard-headed commercial view of its operations. That commercial view is something it shares with BTMK’s Sean Callaghan, with whom Anthony McGarel, the college’s director of finance and corporate services, has built up a successful working relationship. 

When Anthony joined the college in 2007, it was working with a London based firm of solicitors – something that still continues for certain matters – but which Anthony questioned as the best approach for all the legal issues the college had to deal with, including local property related work.

With the college preparing to take on additional leases in Southend, including a Grade 11 listed building in the High Street, it was the perfect opportunity to test the waters with a local legal adviser. Antony carried out a tender exercise, sourcing quotes from three practices, and BTMK were the successful firm.

Since then, Sean has helped the college to complete a number of lease transactions, which have often required swift attention to meet the college’s urgent need to bring a building into use or for construction work to start.

He has also dealt with any necessary change of use documentation – including planning application on the college’s behalf, while his commercial nous has been valuable in providing cost effective solutions to everyday problems experienced by the college’s estates department, including moving a fire escape as a much cheaper alternative to paying an annual fee for access rights.

Elsewhere, his expertise in his field enabled Sean to identify that the college had failed to register its logo as a trademark and then carry out the registration.  He has also helped in drawing up contract agreements for the college to use when employing private companies and contractors.

Sean has also recently been involved in a lease of land and a construction contract for the new Thurrock Learning Campus in Grays, part of a major project in which the college is involved with a number of learning providers.

Anthony says: “We benefit from Sean’s excellent local contacts, for example with estate agents and the local authority’s planning team, and his understanding of our way of doing business, which is more commercially minded than standard public sector thinking.

“The fact that BTMK is local also helps in a very practical way. For example, if we need to have a lease prepared by the end of the week, Sean can simply walk round to our offices one lunchtime to pick up all the necessary paperwork. 

“Its good to know that we have Sean’s expertise and experience on our doorstep. He brings to our working relationship an approach that is sympathetic to our needs, responsive and very helpful.”