It’s the most wonderful time of the year and at Maxis we have a host of exciting events to get you in the festive mood. So pop the dates in your diary so you don’t miss out. 

Giving Tree – 28 November

We are holding our annual Christmas Giving Tree Appeal which launches on 28 November. It’s the perfect way to give back this Christmas. 

We are asking our occupiers to donate brand new toys and gifts which will be donated to Sebastian’s Action Trust, a local charity.  The giving tree appeal is running from 28^th November to 12^th December, so you have plenty of time to get involved. 

To spread some Christmas cheer, simply go to one of the receptions at Maxis 1 or Maxis 2 and take a tag from the tree and buy the present written on the tag and leave it under the giving tree. These will then be distributed to children and families in need this Christmas. 

Wreath Making Workshop – 6 December 

If you fancy getting green fingered and creating your own Christmas wreath this year, then come and join us for a free workshop on 6 December. You’ll get to design your own creation during the wreath making workshop and get to take it home. Sessions run from 11.30-14.30. Booking is now full.  

Christmas Market – 7 December 

From 11.00-15.30 on Wednesday 7 December, come and join us for some festive cheer in the reception of Maxis 2. There will be a host of stalls selling some wonderful gifts and treats, so it’s the ideal time to do some Christmas shopping. There will also be great food and drinks including complimentary mulled wine and mince pies, as well as Christmas music. 

Festive Fashion Day – 8 December

Every year we host a festive fashion day on Christmas Jumper Day, giving you the opportunity to don your finest Christmas jumper or sparkly outfits to raise money for charity. Why not hold a competition amongst your colleagues to see who can wear the best Christmas jumper! To find out more or book onto the events please email charlotte.carrington@wearemapp.com

Frasers Property, owners of Maxis business park in Bracknell is delighted to have been awarded for the second year in a row the highly coveted 4* rating in the GRESB (Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark) rankings.

In further recognition of the company’s credentials in environmental sustainability and its commitment to reducing its carbon footprint across its property portfolio, FPUK was awarded an overall score of 83 – well ahead of the average score in its peer group (69). This puts it top of its peer group once more on all matters related to Environment, Social and Governance (ESG). Frasers Property UK scored 100% in the Management category, a first for the company.

Each year, GRESB assesses and benchmarks the ESG performance of real estate assets worldwide, providing valuable independent insight for financial markets on the complex issue of sustainability.

Commenting as the results were announced, Frasers Property UK Senior Sustainability Manager, Amira Hashemi, said: “FPUK’s GRESB rating and our above-average overall score demonstrate our strong and ongoing commitment to improving the governance and performance of our portfolio across the UK, in line with global initiatives to decrease carbon emissions as we all work towards achieving net zero carbon.

Commercial Director at Frasers Property UK, James Smith added: “We are delighted that GRESB has recognised our continued improvement of environmental performance across the portfolio.”

The rating is an important and independent way for companies to demonstrate their progress and commitment to decarbonising the built environment.

This year marks a significant milestone in FPUK’s sustainability journey, which is due to complete its transformation of the former London Metropolitan School of Art, now known as The Rowe, on the City Fringe in London. The new building will establish an increased total footprint of 162,000 sq. ft. of modern workspace and over 17,000 sq. ft. of outdoor terraces, with outdoor space on each floor. – Through retaining the existing façade and implementing sustainable construction principles, the embodied carbon within The Rowe is c.15% less than an average office development.

Running on 100% renewable energy, The Rowe is now a modern, sustainable work environment that pays homage to the building’s artistic and cultural heritage.

Mental health problems cost the UK economy at least £117.9 billion annually according to a report published by Mental Health Foundation and the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). 

It’s no surprise that this year’s theme for World Mental Health Day on Monday 10^th October is ‘Make mental health and wellbeing for all a global priority’. At Maxis we take mental health and occupier well-being very seriously. 

World Mental Health Day 

We wanted to ensure that we marked the global occasion with a host of activities across all of our business parks in the Frasers Property UK portfolio. Each park is hosting a Tea and Talk event between 10:00-11:00am on the morning of World Mental Health Day. We are inviting occupiers to gather for a natter over a free tea or coffee and a sweet treat. 

This is a chance to connect with colleagues and friends at Maxis and will be held at our café Butler and Walrus. Come and join us from 10am – 11am on Monday 10^th October. 

It’s good to talk 

Talking is good for you – it’s that simple! We understand the importance of wellbeing in the workplace and that’s why we wanted to offer occupiers the opportunity to connect and socialise. Staying connected is often more important than we realise and with many us spending a large proportion of our lives at work it is vital to be able to talk to colleagues and form strong relationships. 

There will also be signposting towards further information and support around mental health issues with links and downloads that we can email to anyone who needs more support. We are also offering a free online subscription to Happiful magazine. Happiful is a mental health and wellbeing magazine on a mission to create a healthier and happier society through inspiring life stories and positive news.

How can you celebrate World Mental Health Day in your workplace? 

1. Share experiences. It is great to share your own mental health experiences. By being open and honest it may encourage others to open up
2. Sparking conversations on social media. Use the hashtag #WorldMentalHealthDay
3. Practice self care. Take a walk, read a magazine, have a bubble bath – whatever makes you happy 
4. Expressing daily gratitude. Write down one or two things that you are grateful for 
5. Reach out to friends and family and check in on them. Send a text or give them a call, let them know you are them for them

If you need someone to talk to right now then call Samaritans on 116 123 (UK-wide) or 

text SHOUT to 85258 (UK-wide).

Community and collaboration is key to us at Maxis. So we wanted to collaborate with some of our occupiers and local businesses to bring to you a fantastic competition taking part in September on our social media platforms. 

We have a host of fantastic prizes. These include a chair massage from the team at The Office Massage Company, the perfect way to take a break from screens and have a bit of ‘me time’ and some great prizes from our onsite cafes Butler and Walrus and Caffe Kix. 

How to enter: 

• Simply follow and like our Twitter, Instagram or Facebook pages for a chance to win a range of amazing prizes!
• All you have to do is comment on the competition post for the prize you want to win. 
• Make sure you follow the business park and tag a friend who you think would like to win the prize. 
• Don’t forget to state which business you both work for at Maxis.

This is a fun competition for occupiers across Maxis so do tell your friends and colleagues on the park and let everyone know. 

Best of luck! 

Terms and conditions: 

This competition is open to people across all our social media channels who work at Maxis only until 12 midnight on the week of each giveaway.

You can tag as many people who work at the business park in separate posts as you like. Each tag will be counted as an entry.  

The competition ends Friday 30th October and we’ll randomly pick a winner which will be announced no later than Friday 11th November 2022.

The winner will be notified through their workplace at Maxis.

The winner will be sent a letter and voucher with the prize to be claimed from the relevant amenity on Maxis. There is no cash equivalent. The judge’s decision will be final. 

The competition is not open to Frasers Property staff, MAPP staff or associated consultants. 

This competition is in no way sponsored or administered by, or associated with Instagram/Twitter/Facebook.

Recycle Week 2022 is taking place from 19^th – 25^th September but it’s great to see that the team at Maxis are always busy making sure they are being sustainable all year round. 

If you have eaten at Caffe Kix or Butler and Walrus and left any food on your plate, the great news is that all food waste is now being composted. Did you know that 11 million tonnes of food waste go to landfill every year creating 20% of the UK’s Co2 emissions? 

Using the onsite Ridan Food Composter at our business park ensures that there is no food waste. The composter is operated manually so requires no electricity or power, saving energy. 

How it works: 

When food is put in the composter and an equal amount of sawdust or wood chip or pellets is added and the handle is turned, the mixture of hot air, food and wood reaches over 60c and microbes turn the waste into compost. This is then used across Maxis by the landscaping team.  

The benefits: 

By composting, it reduces the amount of food waste going to landfill. Ridan’s firmly believe that if food waste is recycled at source, it can be used to enrich the soil and grow more food, whilst supporting valuable eco systems. Last year Frasers Property UK set out a roadmap to achieve net zero carbon across the whole portfolio by 2050 (which aligns with Frasers Property Group’s objective), to achieve net zero carbon across operational areas of control by 2030. By composting onsite, this all helps contribute to the net zero carbon goal. 

Find out more about sustainability at Maxis here. 

Recently occupiers Panasonic hosted a Bracknell BID  “Meet your neighbours” breakfast event.

Bracknell BID is a non-profit organisation working with businesses in Bracknell to improve the area through business development, investment and collaboration.

The Bracknell Southern and Western areas comprise of some 400 acres of retail, trade counters, industrial, warehousing and office space and are located to the west of Bracknell town centre. The area is home to approximately 255 businesses, many are key, not to just Bracknell and Thames Valley, but also nationally and internationally.

 The area has become a Business Improvement District in 2020, known as Bracknell BID. Money gathered by the BID is on top of business rates and delivers special projects around Maxis, such as re-establishing pathways, landscaping and the community bus.

At the breakfast, we were lucky enough to be joined by Mayor of Bracknell Councillor  Ankur Shiv Bhandari  who endorsed the many projects delivered by the BID across Bracknell.

Cllr Bhandari is the first person of Indian origin and also the first person of colour to have taken the position of the Mayor of Bracknell. Cllr Bhandari, who has represented Binfield with Warfield ward since 2019, was elected during the mayor making part of the meeting.  He has taken over as first citizen of Bracknell Forest from Cllr Ash Merry, who has been mayor since May 2020.

Cllr Ankur Shiv Bhandari said: “I am looking forward to the year ahead and carrying out mayoral duties across the borough. In particular, I am looking forward to getting out into our local communities and spreading the message of wellbeing, happiness and saying thanks. I will be particularly focusing on opportunities for young people and businesses in the borough and will try to further the laurels of Bracknell as the ‘Borough of Opportunity’.”

Thank you to everyone who joined and to Panasonic for hosting the event.

We would love you to join us at our Summer fete on Wednesday 6 July outside Maxis 2. We will be hosting the fete in aid of our charity of the year Sebastian’s Action Trust and will have a host of delicious food, fun fete games, a selection of stall holders and a raffle. 

BBQ-tastic 

You don’t have to be an occupier on the park to come and join us on for some great BBQ food from our onsite caterers Butler and Walrus, at the cost of just £6 a head. So why not invite friends and family along too? We will have burgers, hot dogs, a vegetarian option all served with slaw and salad.

From 11:30 – 15:30 there will be some stall holders selling summer gifts, goodies, accessories and cosmetics, so something for everyone. The fete games will include hook a duck, ball in a bucket, splat the rat and more.

Fun fete facts: 

1. The word fete is borrowed from the French and means holiday. Historically, towns were granted charters to hold fairs, maybe once or twice a year
2. Some fetes lasted several days or weeks! These fairs acted as markets for selling goods and services including selling sheep! 
3. The fete as we know it today, probably dates back to the 1920s and is rooted more in charity. Local people would make things to sell and the proceeds would be donated to charity
4. The fete peaked in popularity in the 1950s when it became a key date in the village calendar

We can’t wait to see you at the Maxis Summer fete – just make sure you add Wednesday 6 July to your diary and tell your colleagues, friends and family!

Each year Sebastian’s Action Trust, our charity of the year at Maxis, hosts an incredibly special event; Christmas in July. Sebastian’s Trust focuses on providing emotional, social and practical care for life-limited and life-threatened children and their families. This special second Christmas is hosted for the terminally ill young people they support who sadly won’t make it until Christmas. 

For some families that the charity supports, Christmas may be a time of sadness rather than joy, so the special Christmas in July party aims to put the magic and sparkle of Christmas back into their lives – right in the middle of summer! The event which will be held on 10th July is going to be at Ascot Racecourse this year. 

The events are always magical and fun with a host of attractions, rides, games, stalls, food, entertainment, music, arts and crafts and more. Hundreds of families enjoy this special day out and every one of the children receives a little gift from Father Christmas himself.

The charity is looking for Maxis occupiers to donate a number of Christmas gifts or make a donation to go towards organising this special day. 

You can buy a gift via the link here on Amazon or donate here.   £35 will pay for a child to come to the party, although all contributions will be very welcome, large or small. 

Do join us in making this the best Christmas In July yet! 

Staff from MAPP, Frasers Property facilities management team working on Maxis business park, took part in a Community Action Day organised by The Community Matters Partnership (CMPP) charity. The MAPP employees spent the day working at Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice at Farnham, painting sheds, upcycling benches, helping with garden maintenance and even cleaning vans. Mapp work with CMPP to organise Community Actions Days as part of their social value strategy and to give back to the local community. 

CMPP is a dynamic, enterprising charity that help companies in Berkshire, Hampshire and Surrey to get active in their communities. CMPP provides a fully-managed diverse range of corporate volunteering and community fundraising events. Phyllis Tuckwell is the only Hospice Care service for adult patients, and their families, living with cancer or another advanced or terminal illness (such as heart, lung or neurological disease) across the whole of West Surrey and part of North East Hampshire.

Katy Mailey, Parks Occupier Engagement Manager at MAPP said: “It was fantastic to see the team support a local charity and be able to give back during the community action day. Community is at the heart of Maxis and the Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice is such an amazing charity. It was brilliant to be able to get involved and see everyone get stuck in!”   

Rachel Austen, Corporate Volunteer Manager for CMPP said: “The team worked so hard, and we know that community action days make a real difference to local charities. It was great to see everyone work together and we appreciate all their hard work.”

The event was started by WWF and partners as a symbolic lights-out event in Sydney in 2007. Earth Hour is now one of the world’s largest grassroots movements for the environment. 

Earth Hour has also gone far beyond the symbolic action of switching off – it has become a catalyst for positive environmental impact, driving major legislative changes by harnessing the power of the people and collective action.

When does it take place? 

It is held every year on the last Saturday of March at 8.30pm. This year it is on Saturday, 26 March. 

It is an hour that can change decades where millions of people across the world join in raising awareness. 

What are we doing at Maxis Business Park to support Earth Hour? 

The park will safely turn as many lights out as possible to take part in the hour. Understandably some lighting may need to be kept on for safety reasons. Thankfully a lot of our buildings have sensor lighting, so they automatically turn off when people aren’t using the buildings.  Another great way we are environmentally friendly. 

Here are three ways you can spend Earth hour: 

Reconnect with nature: 

Spend the hour outside with friends and family. Explore your nearby parks or other natural spaces. Go on a night hike or go camping or stargazing. 

Dinner with friends and family: 

Candle-lit dinners aren’t just for Valentine’s Day! Dine in the dark this Earth Hour and cook up some planet-friendly dishes and enjoy by candlelight. 

Get active: 

It’s hard to take care of our planet (and others) when we’re not taking care of ourselves, so get moving this Earth Hour! 

Go on a night cycle or night run! Put on your favourite playlist and dance in the dark or do some candle-lit yoga or listen to a guided meditation track as you do a few stretches.

What have we done recently at Maxis Business Park to be more sustainable?  

Maxis has committed to achieving net zero carbon across the park by 2050, aligned with the Paris Agreement to limit warming by 1.5 degrees. Here’s what we’ve already done to reduce our impact across the park:

• Installation of energy efficient lighting
• 100% renewable electricity procured through the grid for managed areas
• Water efficient fixtures and taps
• Promotion of cycling to reduce commuter emissions
• Installation of rooftop solar PV planned in 2022

Whatever you do this Earth Hour don’t forget to tag us at Maxis Business Park and use the hashtag #ShapeOurFuture for a chance to be featured on the WWF social channels and win official Earth Hour merchandise.