About Us

We will bring a fresh approach to your building project through our experienced and dedicated team. We believe collaboration is key to our success - working proactively with clients, surveyors and subcontractors, our team meets expectations on time, within budget and to the highest standards. 

With over 20 years of delivering projects across the South West, Arque have proved to be the builder of choice for our clients by providing a quality and enjoyable service. We understand our clients' needs and priorities - putting them at the centre of everything we do.

Arque is a private and independent company; our structure means we can be agile, responsive, and able to deliver at short notice. We aim to find ways of reducing costs wherever possible, whilst maintaining professional and contractual standards.

Our management approach is professional and cooperative; we are serious about working with our clients and we enjoy what we do. But don't just take our word for it; have a look at some of our client feedback.

Here are a few of the clients we work with: University of Exeter, Devon and Cornwall Police, Exeter City Football Club, Nuffield Health, Devon Partnership NHS trust, Faithful and Gould, Vickery Holman, Riverford Farm, Exeter City Council, Diocese of Exeter and Devon County Council.

The Arque team

 

Arque's founder and managing director, Bernard Keogh MCIOB, has more than 30 years of experience in construction management. Since establishing Arque, he has built a team of people who share his values and bring complementary experience, creating a core of expert managers and skilled craftsmen. Bernard directs the company, ensuring a high level of service and quality of work. Visit our people page for profiles of some of our staff.

OUR QUALIFICATIONS

 

We’re proud to be a Chartered Building Company. Find out more about this, our commitment to the environment, health and safety, and our other professional qualifications below.

PROFESSIONAL KITEMARKS

Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) 

Arque is one of the few Chartered Building Companies in Devon. This status cannot be bought, and rigorous qualification requirements are in place for all CBC executive directors, who are expected to ensure the continuous development of their staff. Our membership of the CIOB gives clients total confidence in our business.

Through the CIOB we are independently assessed and regularly audited to demonstrate that we:

• Are competently and professionally run,
• Operate to high business and ethical standards,
• Are committed to developing a fully qualified workforce,
• Have a significant number of directors that are already Chartered, either with CIOB or other related organisations.

We are also proud to be members of the Exeter Chamber of Commerce.

ISO14001 and 9001

As an SME, Arque is extremely proud to have attained both its ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certifications. These are awarded to companies that have demonstrated a high degree of diligence and accountability in their Quality and Environmental Management Systems standards. To attain these, we reviewed our processes and had them independently audited to ensure they met stringent standards. This certification is one that few other companies of our size possess, and we are proud to be included on this list.

OUR ENVIRONMENT

At Arque, we deeply care about the environment. Whenever possible, we strive to reduce our carbon footprint by actively minimizing and reducing waste, as well as reusing and recycling materials. This approach not only benefits the environment but also enhances our efficiency. Furthermore, we prioritize the use of sustainable materials and provide our clients with advice on environmentally friendly materials and products.

We are very proud of our ISO 14001 Environmental and ISO 9001 Quality accreditations.
Download our Environmental Policy here (PDF document).
Download our Quality Policy here (PDF document).

HEALTH AND SAFETY AND TRAINING

Health and safety

 

Health and safety are paramount in any contract we undertake. We are accredited by the following schemes:

• CHAS
• SafeContractor
• Salus
• Constructionline 

We employ independent safety advisors to inspect our sites and keep us informed. Regular H&S training is conducted to maintain awareness of issues and to exceed legislative requirements. All our site staff and managers hold CSCS (Construction Skills Certification Scheme) cards.

Training

 

We are committed to training our staff, aiming for each individual to enjoy their work and fulfill their potential. From our youngest apprentice to our most experienced manager, we invest in relevant training.

All our staff regularly update their qualifications to ensure we meet and exceed industry standards.