A mixture of traditional family values and superb construction know-how has proven to be a winning combination for Kempton Homes, after the Kent-based company became Regional Winners of the LABC Building Excellence Awards 2024.
Created in 2017 by brothers, Jake and Sam Kempton, the company remains a family-run business with a strong emphasis on quality and service, which shone through on the award-winning Parkgate House development in Warlingham, Surrey. Their mum Christine also works for the company, carrying out all the day-to-day office running requirements. She also has many years’ experience in interior design and works meticulously on every Kempton’s Home development to provide first class finishings and specifications.
“To get this award was fantastic and quite emotional too,” explains Paul Burton, Construction Manager, who joined Kempton Homes in 2019 after previously working with Jake at another company. “Getting this recognition is something we have always wanted to do at Kempton Homes.
“Both Jake and Sam have built the business up from scratch over the past seven years to the point where the quality of our build is exceptional. It’s just beyond words how far we’ve come, so to get this award is brilliant.”
The award success is all the more impressive given that the Parkgate development wasn’t without its challenges, as Paul outlines: “The project was fairly complex and wasn’t your typical housing design. It also had quite a complicated roof, with a mixture of flat and pitched roofs that were all intertwined. Fortunately, myself and Sam have trade backgrounds, so we were able to overcome this particular challenge.
“I’m very hands on day-to-day, visiting sites most days and, along with Sam, we make sure the work is carried out to the required standard. We put a great deal of emphasis on ensuring the fabric of the building is correct, so that the underlying quality is there all the way through. This also helps to reduce any problems later down the line and limit any aftercare costs.”
This was certainly the case for the Parkgate development, which has now been put forward for a national LABC Award. It has also performed well commercially, with all nine apartments having been sold, four of which were purchased prior to completion.
Not one to rest on its laurels, however, Kempton Homes is now looking to its next development. “We’ve just purchased another site for the development of a number of bungalows, so we are currently working on the pre-development aspects for this one,” says Paul. “Finding potential sites for development can be tricky, but we’re in a strong position to be able to play a waiting game if necessary. We certainly won’t jump into anything just for the sake of it. We carry out all the due diligence for every project so that we’re never wasting anyone’s time. We’re not that sort of company.
“We hope that by treating others fairly then they’ll do the same for us. The same goes for the sub-contractors that we use. We have a core of companies that we’ve worked with for years, so we trust them, and they know the standards that we work to.”
This approach is obviously working well for Kempton Homes, as the success of the Parkgate development underlines. With a national LABC Award a real possibility, the company can now look forward to further industry recognition and growth thanks to the strong team and quality-led ethos it has put in place.