Mitie is growing its landscaping business with the acquisition of Biotecture, a leading specialist in ‘living walls’. Biotecture designs, builds and maintains sustainable vertical gardens, which transform indoor and outdoor urban spaces by improving air quality and biodiversity, while also enhancing workspace design.
Biotecture’s interior living walls are designed to improve indoor workspaces by using plants that are both aesthetically pleasing and also able to remove toxins from the air, without taking up valuable floor space. Living walls help improve indoor air quality, as plants can reduce CO2 levels by 10-25%, as well as absorbing and reflecting sound for better acoustics. As well as the physical improvements, there is also significant evidence that indoor plants contribute to colleague wellbeing, by creating a more productive and positive work environment. Exterior living walls also have significant environmental benefits, including improving local biodiversity, removing air pollution, supporting thermal insulation, and helping to reduce noise levels inside buildings.
Biotecture’s current clients include JC Decaux, Grosvenor Estates, MTV Viacom, Network Rail, Canary Wharf Management, The Crown Estate and Land Securities. Its Managing Director, Richard Sabin, will be joining Mitie Landscapes’ Senior Leadership Team as part of the acquisition.
Mitie Landscapes offers tailored horticultural and landscaping services, including grounds maintenance, landscaping, gritting and snow clearance, interior office plants and a Christmas decoration service. With its strategy to be the UK’s greenest commercial landscaping provider, the acquisition of Biotecture is part of Mitie’s Plan Zero commitment to reach net zero carbon operational emissions by 2025. Mitie Landscapes’ new Hub in Hampshire has also been designed with this in mind, and includes ground source heat pumps, water recycling systems and energy efficient lighting, including LED lights which are powered only with renewable energy, to ensure the site is as sustainable as possible.
In February 2021, Mitie Landscapes launched the UK’s first ever zero emission gritter for commercial use, named ‘Gritter Thunberg’ by a public vote, to help businesses keep their people safe through winter, whilst limiting their impact on the planet. The company has also worked to eliminate chemicals and single use materials from its operations wherever possible, as well as phasing out the use of peat.
Tim Howell, Managing Director, Landscapes, Mitie, said:
“As more companies realise the benefits of green spaces for both their people and the planet, interest in installing living walls is on the rise. Welcoming Biotecture to the Mitie team ensures we can offer traditional landscaping services whilst also helping customers make the most of their vertical spaces. With this expansion of our services, we’re now even better placed to support a cleaner, greener Britain through the power of plants.”
Richard Sabin, Managing Director, Biotecture, said:
“With our shared passion for sustainability, joining Mitie enables UK wide delivery of our innovative green wall systems to an enviable client base. Employee wellbeing, workplace enhancements, better air quality & enriched biodiversity are just some of the benefits that we will focus on. Together we will seek to transform both internal and external environments for the good of people and planet.”
Notes to editors
About Mitie
Founded in 1987, Mitie’s job is to look after places where Britain works and is the leading facilities management company in the UK. We offer a range of services to Central Government and Defence customers; Communities (Healthcare, Education and Local Authorities); and Technical Services (Engineering Services, Energy, Water and Real Estate Services) and Business Services (Security, Cleaning and Office Services) to Private Sector clients in Financial Services, Manufacturing, Transport, Retail and Telecoms and increasingly to the public sector. Finally, our Specialist Services (Care & Custody, Landscapes and Waste Management) division serves both the public and private sector in these niche businesses.
Mitie acquired Interserve’s FM business in December 2020 and now employs 75,000 people. We are the champion of the ‘Front-Line Heroes’ who have kept Britain working during the COVID-19 pandemic. We take care of our customers’ people and buildings, through the ‘Science of Service’, delivering essential services and deploying industry leading technology to create safe and effective workspaces.
The business continues to execute its technology-led strategy and in the past six months has received multiple awards.
Find out more at www.mitie.com.
