A £15m landmark headquarters for The Workdry Group, a global specialist in mission-critical water handling, storage and treatment solutions, is being built on the south coast of England by modular construction experts Portakabin.
With completion due next March, the modular office building in Chandler’s Ford, near Southampton, Hampshire, will be aiming for the high-level sustainability certification of BREEAM ‘Excellent’.
National construction specialist and property consultancy Vail Williams is advising owners of The Workdry Group, which has 24 locations in the UK, bringing together a portfolio of market-leading businesses with expertise in water handling, storage and wastewater treatment solutions.
Selwood, part of The Workdry Group, alongside Siltbuster, is the UK’s largest mobile and modular water handling and storage rental partner, providing mission-critical solutions across multiple sectors.
As an international Group, they are leaders in pumping solutions, on-site water treatment, wet waste processing and the prevention of waterborne pollution, delivering an unrivalled range of rapidly deployable solutions.
Work is already underway on the street corner site at 32-36 Bournemouth Road, Chandler’s Ford, on a long-established industrial estate, with demolition of the original building.
Remediation works were completed in June of this year.
In a full turn-key design-and-build contract, Portakabin will be manufacturing the modular units at its manufacturing headquarters in York.
They will be transported in convoy to The Workdry Group’s headquarters over an install period of two weeks.
Chris Davies, Vail Willliams’ National Building Surveying Lead, is overseeing the Vail Williams team liaising with client, end users and principal contractor Portakabin.
He said: “This £15m landmark headquarters will be the first of its kind in the area, with a modular construction and credentials measured across BREEAM categories such as management, energy, water, materials, waste and health and wellbeing.
“The project has a 100% biodiversity gain target, through carefully considered landscaping and ecological enhancements including living walls, a planted courtyard and trees to the frontage.
“The previous building, decades old, was heading towards obsolescence and was no longer fit for purpose on a range of compliance measures, including energy efficiency, with demolition the best option.
“Speaking generally, a number of commercial property landlords and investors are replacing old with new to meet compliance regulations coming down the track, rather than sitting on their hands and running the risk of property assets becoming stranded.
“There’s also the wellbeing of staff – employees may feel more inclined to stay with a company which has invested in a new workplace environment with credible, accountable green credentials.”
Chris added: “Colleagues in our Leeds office will be liaising with Portakabin on the progress of the off-site manufacture and fit out of the modular units as part of our joined-up, proactive advisory role.”
Andy Scarr, who joined Vail Williams’ Building Consultancy team in Bournemouth in 2025 as an Associate, is responsible for delivering the day-to-day project management role, supported by the firm’s Leeds office.
Stricter energy rules for commercial buildings mean that, from 2030, minimum energy efficiency standards (MEES) will be even higher to reduce carbon emissions as part of Britain’s goal to be net zero by 2050.
As well as the project management role for the demolition and design-and-build, Vail Williams has been involved in lease negotiations for the site on behalf of the freehold owner linked to Workdry, with law firm Lester Aldridge in Southampton on the legal side.
Part of the works includes the provision of a new sub-station to power the headquarters and the adjacent factory buildings where pumps are made, stored and refurbished.
Design architects for the headquarters are Portakabin supported by Southampton-based Boyle & Summers as planning consultants, with an advisory role from quantity surveying practice Lesley Morris Associates in Buckinghamshire.
