Testimonials

Dave at Escentral worked with us to analyse data, quality-control and verify space-related EMR 24-25 data fields. In addition, he summarised the key data and produced both relevant data summary and lessons learned reports for us. For the duration of this commission Dave worked as one of our team, rather than as one might have expected from a consultant, responding promptly to queries and discussing key matters in detail to determine appropriate options and solutions.

Personally, I found Dave to be a pleasure to work with; nothing was too much trouble and he was always prepared to go the extra mile to get the job done. I would not hesitate to recommend Dave and Escentral to other potential clients for this type of work.

Escentral worked closely with us to develop highly valuable insights about our utilisation of learning and teaching space. Guildhall School of Music & Drama has a complex curriculum structure optimised for student choice, which presents some notable space management and estate planning challenges. The Escentral team worked hard to understand our inherent complexity and reflect it thoughtfully in their analysis. We found them extremely collaborative, thoughtful and committed throughout the process.
 
The results supply a rich evidence base that will support discussions about space priorities, pressures and opportunities across the estate – this work will be a cornerstone in shaping the future of the School. The project also provided a useful opportunity for self-reflection that will lead to improvements in the way we handle room booking information. Thanks to Escentral's excellent work, we can test assumptions against clear, objective data and develop a much richer understanding of our position.
 
We recommend Escentral to other institutions with unique methods of operation and complex estate optimisation puzzles. The team is approachable, inquisitive and very skilled at adapting their valuable methodologies to new, challenging contexts.

We recently engaged Escentral to support the University in exploring the introduction of an Agile Working Environment (AWE). Their consultancy approach, structured across three phases and underpinned by bespoke analytical tools, was both rigorous and insightful. The output was elegant, thoughtful, and highly credible.

It has been a pleasure working with Escentral over the last few years. They have conducted our annual space audits for several years now, consistently providing an excellent service and insightful recommendations.

Last year, we worked with them to create our space management policies; they drew on their vast experience to help us navigate the complexities of university space management, creating robust policies that truly reflect our institution's needs.

Throughout these projects, their team has been proactive, dedicated, and deeply engaged with our stakeholders. Thanks to their thorough approach, we now have a clear path towards better space utilisation. We wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Escentral and look forward to collaborating with them on future projects.

At the beginning of the 2022/23 academic year, due to an increase in student numbers and the subsequent need to redevelop parts of Cardiff Metropolitan University’s estate, we faced challenges in our ability to schedule teaching for one of our academic Schools. We approached Escentral for assistance and were very lucky that at very short notice, and despite all his other commitments, Ben immediately made himself available to help us. He worked collaboratively with our timetabling team to plan a sequence of actions and carried out the scheduling in just three days when it might otherwise have taken weeks.

As well as his technical expertise, Ben puts his clients first. He constantly kept us up to date, enabling the timetabling team to regularly communicate the progress being made to the academic School. He provided advice and support to the timetabling and School staff and constantly sought to find innovative solutions to complex problems. Ben has also offered to help us to review our processes going forward. We have really valued and learnt from Ben’s expertise and approach.

The Escentral team were brilliant at planning and undertaking a comprehensive week-long survey across our office as well as teaching and study spaces. The team were expertly lead by Jody throughout the week so minimised any impact or issues that required the involvement of LBS staff.

The level of service Escentral provide is nothing short of impeccable.

Escentral regularly works with Cardiff Metropolitan University and has assisted us with several specific projects. Their continuous support, expertise, patience and good humour is what makes a huge difference. Knowing that they have our back and will jump in quickly if we need them is great. This giving back charity initiative is also very welcome.