Talk by Malcolm Fletcher

Talk by Malcolm Fletcher

Following the recent payment from the Halcrow Trust staff at BP were invited on Wednesday 20th June 2012 to join in a toast of thanks to the original trustees and especially their first Chairman – Malcolm Fletcher. This is a brief resume of Malcolm’s speech from the creation of the firm to the present day and why the Trust was set up.

Malcolm explained that the firm had been run until 1991 by Partners but to ensure the longer term independence of Halcrow and triggered by approach that he had become involved in many years ago, for a Joint Venture with another party (which happened to be American Consulting Firm), he decided that the future of the firm needed to be examined and secured. The Americans involved in this Joint Venture told him they wanted to buy Halcrow. He said he would have to talk to his “friends”, but he was concerned that one of the conditions of the Joint Venture would result in the purchase of Halcrow and loss of independence. It was after this that the Trust was set up as he saw it as being the best way of protecting it from “outside interference”. He always looked on the firm as a family firm and wanted it to continue for another 100 years without any outside interference. The “family firm” of course, included the families who travelled all over the world with the engineer and put up with all kinds of difficulties.

Decisions about who would benefit from the windfall from the Trust were organised by John Theakston and apart from staff and ex-staff the other beneficiary is to be the Halcrow Foundation headed by Malcolm Wallace and a board of Trustees. Malcolm Fletcher had always intended that beneficiaries should be all staff from the tea boy in Dubai to the senior managers irrespective of seniority or salary, as both needed one another, but this had not happened. Malcolm himself had not been a beneficiary. The decision to make the Halcrow Foundation a beneficiary has been taken by the Halcrow Trust as an interpretation of the Trust rules.

The Trust was set up in such a way that the “small print” made it impossible for any one person to walk away with the money, should a buyout ever happen. Malcolm said he was probably the only one who knew that this pay-out would take place – because of the small print, but he never expected a buyout to happen. He made a point of saying that until very recently the company had always been run by people within the industry. He said that in the days of the Partnership the company used what he called “Corporate Funds” to look after the company and that included the purchase of BP and the additions of the two extra buildings in the 1990s, at no time did Halcrow borrow from banks.

In closing, probably with a lump in his throat, Malcolm wished the new firm well and commended CH2M Hill as a traditional design consultant and their staff work very hard. In a final moment of reflection Malcolm praised the lovely office and grounds and hoped they were valued and that the staff would keep it by making sure it is fully occupied by the Company. No one from the new management or owners was present.

Presentation About the Halcrow Foundation 

Malcolm Wallace gave an outline of how this started and of what they had achieved over the years since it had been set up. Halcrow had previously given 1% of pre-tax profits to support this, but this will now end as a result of the buy-out and the Halcrow Trust has decided to give a payment to the Foundation. They will receive the funds in 2014 but a small payment is to be made now. No figures were given but this will be made public in time. He did say that if any of those who had received a pay-out from the Trust wanted to make a donation then there was ways of doing it. As they will no longer receive any money from C2HM Hill they will have to rely on donations and fund raising activities.