Darryn has been working in the construction sector for 17 years. He gained a Diploma in Quantity Surveying, and is now a Member of the Institute of Quantity Surveyors. He also took extra mural studies at Massey towards a Bachelor of Construction – “then I got so busy running a company that I’m still not quite finished!”

“Whilst studying for my Diploma my first job was working for a builders merchants QS company where I measured house plans for building product suppliers. This gave me a really good opportunity to hone my measurement skills. From here I cut my teeth, commercially in Christchurch on the Westfield Riccarton additions, Airport Carpark Building and Countdown Supermarket in Hornby. These were challenging projects as they had to be completed in a very short time.

Other projects ranged from retirement villages, apartment complexes, domestic and commercial insurance settlements, high end architectural residential developments, and builder and main contractor tenders and contract administration.

After many years working with major national construction companies, Darryn decided it was time to take a different tack. “I wanted to go out on my own because I felt there was a better way of doing things,” he explains. Despite this, Darryn’s workload continued to grow so he made the decision to ask Nathan to join forces with him. “It was a big step to go from being sole owner to having a partner but I wanted to establish a company that was bigger than just me. I’d always enjoyed working with Nathan - he’s very good at what he does and we have complementary skills, so he was the logical choice.”

“Nathan is very detailed and technically adept and systems oriented so brings a real Project Management professionalism to the company. I Project Manage as well but my base training was in Quantity Surveying and that is my key area of expertise.”

Darryn is a keen sportsman, and is currently training for a half Ironman. “I have the biking and running under control, but I’m getting swimming lessons because swimming is not my strong point. I’m also a keen mountain biker and love all sports, so my wife Heidi, and I are making sure our children, Ben and Emma, grow up with a love of sports and the outdoors too. Even though my daughter is only six we’ve already walked the Abel Tasman together as a family.”

Nathan has worked in Project Management in the construction industry since leaving university in 1997 with a Bachelor of Engineering degree. Starting at the deep end, his first project was as a Site Engineer on a 20 storey commercial high rise in Auckland for a multi-national company.

When Sydney was awarded the Olympics, there was an edict from the Australian government who insisted Sydney ‘looked finished’ for the games. Nathan was as a result asked by his company to cross the ditch to work on the iconic Aurora Place, which had been designed by world-famous architect, Renzo Piano. “It was a twin tower mixed use 18 and 44 storey development - a combination of residential and commercial. I had various roles on the project during the 3 years I was involved, these included managing base build finishes, façade management, and the fitout of the top three levels of the commercial tower - these floors being the most expensive commercial space in Australia at the time. It was fair to say that the finishes were something else”

He later moved to the UK with his wife Rebecca, (also a Project Manager, who recently worked as Project Manager of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Building Failures Caused by the Canterbury Earthquakes). We worked in Oxford initially before moving to London where I ventured into high end commercial interior fitouts working for a specialist interiors company. The fitouts we worked on were amazing, we completed a fit out for an Icelandic bank which included, amongst other things, a boardroom with a leather floor!”

Nathan also worked on St Pancras / Kings Cross Eurostar Terminal as a Senior Construction Manager, this was a £90m fitout which formed part of the £5 billion project. Another major project was the complete refit of Shell International Head Office, “As Senior Construction Manager my area was the lower four floors of the 20 level building but these still had a £30m pound budget.”

“Our first son Jonty was born in London and went to a bi-lingual Spanish / English pre-school. When our second child was on the way, the pull of home and family became too strong to resist so we arrived back home in 2008. Considering it was right in the middle of the GFC I counted myself lucky to secure a good job with a major national construction company and was involved in some interesting projects including Project Managing the Dudley Park Aquatic Centre construction in Rangiora.”

Nathan had always really enjoyed working with Darryn, so when the pair caught up over a beer one evening, the seed was sown to join forces and see where this would take them. This was further cemented when Andrew and Rob were keen to join and create a very strong construction professional services company.

With three children now – sons Jonty, Zac and Toby – spare time is a rarity but Nathan still enjoys cricket where he plays for Swannanoa in North Canterbury. He also coaches his sons’ football team and the whole family loves to get up the mountain for a ski when they can.

“If you asked anyone who worked with me they would tell you I’m very particular (I’m sure the builder who has recently renovated my house would agree!). I’m a ‘measure three times cut once’ sort of person, and like things to be just so. I know what can be achieved and I push hard to make it happen.”

Andrew started his working life as a carpenter and joiner, gaining his City and Guilds qualifications in his native UK and continuing to work as a carpenter when he first moved to New Zealand in the early 2000’s. This experience was beneficial when he later decided to study for his National Diploma in Quantity Surveying. “Having experience in carpentry and joinery has been a huge help in my Quantity Surveying profession as I have a real in-depth knowledge of building from the ground up,” he explains.

“Focus is great to work for and we all get on really well together,” says Andrew. “You can have a bit of a laugh but everyone in the office expects a high standard so we’re all always pushing ourselves to do our best. We regularly pick each other’s brains, so you always feel like you’re improving and developing new skills, which is really important to me, and hugely beneficial to our clients. I also like the fact that there is a great variety of work coming through the door.”

Andrew and his wife Alex’s children –son Joseph and daughter Cameron - were only six months and three years old when the family immigrated to New Zealand. He says they have never regretted the decision to move. “We all love it here so much we haven’t been back to the UK at all.”

A recent immigrant to New Zealand, Rob started in construction working for a multi-national company in the UK who sponsored him through university. He graduated in 2010 with a degree in Quantity Surveying, and continued to work for the same company (becoming a Chartered Quantity Surveyor in the process) until leaving for New Zealand 2014.

“Working at Focus feels more like you’re working with friends rather than a big faceless company, and the work is a lot more diverse. We can be dealing with three or four different projects in any one day and the nature of the projects is quite varied as well.”

Rob’s key area of expertise is contract administration. “Once a project is in the delivery phase, I run with it. That could involve procurement of sub-contractors, management of financials, and other activity right through to closing out the final accounts.”

Since arriving here, Rob and wife Vicki have had daughter Freya. But parenthood hasn’t stopped Rob and Vicki making the most of the outdoors. “We love the relaxed outdoor lifestyle here,” says Rob. “Cycling and hiking are both things we really enjoy doing as a family, we put the little one on our back and we’re off!”