
The past few years have seen Vassallo Group go from strength to strength with the completion of the Vassallo Business Park, Campus Hub, several HILA homes, its first home for the elderly in Gozo, and the innovative Mediterranean College of Sport. “A lot has been going on,” concedes Pio. But, that is no reason to rest on any laurels. “We need some time to mature and consolidate, but never rest. We have to move forward; the status quo is not good.” And forward is where Vassallo Group is headed, as it seeks to continue to stand out among its peers, thanks to its dynamic diversification and avant-garde approach in various sectors.
“We have always been quite adventurous. Apart from having our long-term vision, we are always looking for opportunities as they come along. We do not like to copy what others are doing and we are not afraid of taking bold decisions,” Pio says. “We like to be ahead of the crowd and to branch out,” he adds. “We are a very diversified, dynamic group of companies and can use our experiences from different industries to apply them across all sectors.” The Mediterranean College of Sport is a perfect example of how forward-looking the Group can be, introducing an innovative concept, which has real growth potential even on an international level. “We see education as a target sector for growth,” he insists. “We want education to be another pillar of Vassallo Group.”
MCS also opens up new opportunities to branch out into sports tourism. “Malta can be a very good host for training camps and international tournaments and with our facilities at Campus Hub and MCS we can offer something truly unique.” Already established as the largest private operator in the care sector for the elderly, Pio reveals that the Group “hopes to win another government tender to build a home for the elderly next year, and strike another large private-public partnership project in this sector over the next two to three years”.
Vassallo Group is also a leader in the construction industry where they are “not afraid to be the first to use new technologies” to stay on top of their game and ensure the business continues to grow, while safeguarding sustainability and environmental responsibilities. Pio explains how some of the “green” measures introduced by the Group included the innovative use of pre-fabricated bathrooms on Campus Hub; a first for Malta, which minimises noise and impact on site, as well as the use of a bubble deck system in slabs in the construction of both MCS and Campus Hub, which reduces the amount of concrete required.
All the roofs in Vassallo Group buildings are covered in solar panels, water is being heated through cutting-edge heat pumps, and they are now looking at soft landscaping buildings by adding vertical gardens. “We are constructing greener buildings, not just in terms of the technology used but also in how they look,” Pio says, adding they are also proactively adopting an ESG strategy in preparation for new legislations. The Group has also invested heavily in electric cars in recent years and “plan to do more of that” in future.
But it is not enough to adopt these “green” initiatives. Sustainability demands a cultural shift, even among employees. “It’s like building a new culture of awareness and it comes from the little things, such as switching off the lights at the end of the working day. As a population, we were not brought up to be aware of these little things that can have such a big impact on the environment,” says Pio. He adds that the Group-wide environmental policy of “reduce, reuse, recycle” is one way to help the environment in a tangible manner. Success never comes without challenges and one of the biggest issues is the lack of skilled labour.
“Maltese labour is shrinking, especially in the construction sector and we are losing the traditional masonry skills, which is such a pity. It is hard to replace that with new work methods,” he says. “Construction has become much more challenging with all the regulations. Building permits take much longer and are costlier,” he continues, explaining that the problem is not regulations, but enforcement. “Regulations are not enforced upon everyone equally. A big company like ours would implement them, but others do not take them so seriously.”
The Group is not immune to the perennial problems of overpopulation and traffic that afflict daily life in Malta. “Infrastructure is a bit lacking and this affects logistics and tourism. Malta needs to find the right balance between economic growth and the needs of residents and tourists. We are off-balance with too much going on and too much disruption,” he points out. As the Group plans to complete the final phase of Campus Hub and increase student population at the Mediterranean College of Sport, Pio “cautiously” points to potential future international investments “somewhere in Europe”, a long-held “dream”. Meanwhile, the Group will “consolidate as leaders in the sectors we already operate and target to have another diversified portfolio over the next five years”.