A render and cladding cleaning project in Newport Gwent. Softwashing UK were contracted by the comparison website Go.Compare to clean and restore their national headquarters in Newport, Gwent. The building was in need of a maintenance clean because several years after construction there was staining from organic growth, as well as accumulated dirt. As a national brand it is important for Go.Compare to keep their building at the highest standard, to make the right impression on staff and visitors alike. Softwashing UK were happy to oblige and assist this prestigious customer in this render and cladding cleaning project. 

The Go.Compare headquarters is based in Imperial Park. This is a 350 acre site just off the M4 near Newport. The park is the base for many  local and national businesses, and other national names include Beachcroft, Vantage, and Smiths News. The Go.Compare HQ itself is on a 4.6 million lease. This is a significant investment – and explains why Gocompare’s management want the building looking at its best. As a high value location the building itself is not without architectural flair, with large inset spaces over 3 storeys, with glass and render elevations, with cladded areas. This irregular shape comes with technical challenges when considering cleaning.

Who Are Go.Compare?

Go.Compare (formerly Gocompare.com) were established in 2006 by renowned Welsh entrepreneur Hayley Parsons. The company’s innovation led to rapid growth, and the company posted over 35 million in profit in 2011. The company was purchased by the Bath based publishers Future PLC for 594 million in 2020. Go.Compare are a powerful UK brand who have invested significantly in advertising – and their adverts which featured international Welsh opera star Wynne Evans, a tenor singer, caught and stuck in the public’s imagination.

Working At Height

The large inset areas of the Go.Compare offices posed significant technical challenges on this project. In order to safely and accurately clean all elevations Softwashing UK used a specialist MEWP (aka cherry picker) with a boom that could extend to reach the in-set elevations. The job required biocidal application to kill the organic growth at the root system, and a steam clean using the Doff  Steam Cleaning System from Stonehealth. These processes killed the organic growth, removed the staining and other causes of discolouration and left both render and cladding in optimum condition.

You can see from the video case study that the results are outstanding.