About HRG Tree Surgeons
Our Story
HRG Tree Surgeons was founded in 2008 by Henri Ghijben in Southampton. The beginnings were modest. Henri had been made redundant just before the banking crash and decided to back himself, taking a loan from another tree surgeon he had been contracting to. The first incarnation of the business was Henri, a van, a chipper, and a small garage that cost fifty-seven pounds a month to rent. He and his wife-to-be, Sarah, were living in a bedsit at the time.
Starting a business had always been the plan. Henri’s father raised him on the idea that you should start a business as young as you can, and the redundancy in 2008 was the moment that made it happen. From day one, HRG took on a mix of domestic and commercial tree work across the South of the UK, building a client base steadily over the early years through quality workmanship and reliable service.
Everything changed in 2011 when Henri married Sarah. That marriage marked the start of a more ambitious chapter for the business. Henri had experienced some challenging bosses earlier in his career and was determined to build a company that did things differently. The vision was a business with a strong culture, a serious work ethic, and a team of people who were genuinely well looked after. The belief was simple: if you create the right environment for great people, the quality of the work will follow, and clients across the South of the UK will keep coming back.
That is exactly what happened. HRG grew from a one-person operation to fifteen, then twenty, then twenty-five, then forty-seven staff at its peak, taking on a major utility contract and delivering work for some of the largest contractors in the industry. Today, HRG operates with a focused team of around twenty arborists and support staff, deliberately structured to maintain the high quality and high customer service standards that built the company’s reputation in the first place. We work for facilities management companies, construction firms, grounds maintenance contractors, landscape architects, domestic homeowners, and a wide range of commercial clients across the region.
Over fifteen years on from that first chipper and that fifty-seven-pound garage, the company that started in a bedsit in Southampton is now one of Hampshire’s most established arboricultural contractors.
Henri Ghijben, Founder and Managing Director
Henri has over 21 years of hands-on experience in the arboricultural industry. He started his career at the sharp end, climbing and felling trees across Hampshire before founding HRG in 2008 and building it into the company it is today. His background in every aspect of practical tree surgery means he leads from the front, setting the technical and safety standards that every member of the team follows on every job.
Beyond HRG, Henri is the founder of the Tree Surgery Business Academy and the Tree Surgeons Mastermind, where he coaches and mentors other tree surgery business owners across the UK. His experience of building, scaling, and refining a tree surgery business through every stage of growth gives him a perspective that few in the industry can match. Henri is a passionate advocate for raising professional standards across the arboricultural sector and believes that well-run tree surgery businesses are better for clients, better for teams, and better for the environment.
Henri lives in Southampton with his wife Sarah and their two children, and is actively involved in the local community.
Our Team
HRG employs around 20 qualified and experienced tree surgeons and support staff, working from our headquarters at Mountbatten House, Grosvenor Square, Southampton. Every member of our climbing and ground crew holds the relevant NPTC qualifications for the work they carry out. Our team includes experienced arborists, skilled climbers, and certified plant operators, all of whom undertake regular training to stay current with the latest techniques and safety standards.
The current team size is a deliberate choice. After scaling to 47 staff at its peak, HRG was reshaped into a more focused operation that allows us to maintain the consistency, quality, and customer service that our clients value. Key members of the team bring decades of combined experience across commercial and residential tree surgery, ensuring continuity for clients who return to us year after year.
Accreditations and Insurance
HRG Tree Surgeons is an Arboricultural Association Approved Contractor. The Arboricultural Association is the only comprehensive accreditation scheme for tree surgery contractors in the UK. To achieve and maintain Approved Contractor status, HRG has been independently assessed on the quality of our tree work, our health and safety practices, our business systems, and our client care. This accreditation is renewed through regular audits, ensuring that the standards we set on day one are the standards we maintain today.
In addition to ARB Approved Contractor status, HRG holds CHAS, SMAS, and Alcumus accreditations, independently verifying our health and safety management, business practices, and compliance standards. These accreditations are required by many of the commercial contractors and facilities management companies we work with, and they reflect the same standards we apply to every job regardless of scale.
We carry £10 million Public Liability insurance and full Employers’ Liability cover, providing complete peace of mind for domestic homeowners, commercial property managers, and local authority clients alike.
What We Do
- Tree pruning and crown reduction: restoring shape, improving light levels, and promoting long-term tree health. All pruning is carried out to BS3998:2010.
- Tree felling and dismantling: safe removal of dangerous, diseased, or unwanted trees using advanced rigging and sectional felling techniques, even in confined urban spaces.
- Stump grinding: complete removal of tree stumps below ground level.
- Hedge cutting and maintenance: for residential gardens and large commercial boundaries.
- Tree planting and young tree maintenance: species sourcing, planting, staking, and ongoing formative care.
- Tree surveys and reports: including BS5837:2012 surveys for development sites, tree condition assessments, and Quantified Tree Risk Assessments (QTRA).
- Woodland and vegetation clearance: for development sites, estates, and land management projects.
Where We Work
Our headquarters are in Southampton, but our teams operate daily across the whole of Hampshire and the wider South of England. Our regular coverage area extends as far west as Weymouth, as far north as Oxford, and as far east as Brighton. We work in every type of setting, from small residential gardens in Southampton city centre to large rural estates in the New Forest, and from school grounds in Eastleigh to commercial development sites across the region.
We work regularly with Southampton City Council, Hampshire County Council, Test Valley Borough Council, and other local authorities, giving us in-depth knowledge of local planning regulations, Tree Preservation Orders (TPOs), and Conservation Area requirements. If your trees are subject to a TPO or you are within a Conservation Area, we can guide you through the application process and liaise with local tree officers on your behalf.
Our Clients
HRG serves domestic homeowners, schools, commercial estates, property developers, construction companies, facilities management firms, housing associations, and local authorities. Our client base ranges from individual homeowners needing a single tree pruned to national construction firms requiring arboricultural support across multi-year development programmes.
We are proud to have worked on high-profile projects including the redevelopment at Pinewood Studios, where we worked alongside Sir Robert McAlpine.
Our Equipment
We invest in specialist equipment to ensure that every job is completed safely, efficiently, and to the highest standard. Our fleet includes:
- Tracked and tow-behind chippers
- Tractor with flail and mulcher attachments
- Avant 750 compact loader with log grab, bucket, and pallet forks
- Mobile Elevated Work Platforms (MEWPs) for safe access at height
- 4×4 Defenders for site access on difficult terrain
- Unimog with large grain trailer for efficient log and woodchip removal
- Transit and Defender tipper vehicles
Our Values
Teamwork
HRG is stronger together than as individuals. We are committed to supporting the collective success and wellbeing of our entire crew.
Integrity
We do what we say we will do. High standards create trust, and trust is earned through consistent, honest work.
Environment
On every job, our intention is to deliver the best outcomes for the environment and ecology of the area. We use techniques that minimise ecological impact and promote long-term tree health. Our teams are trained to identify ecological concerns, including nesting birds and bat habitats, and will stop work immediately if an ecological issue is identified.
Safety
Tree surgery is inherently hazardous. We reduce risk by insisting on rigorous training, strict risk assessments, and full compliance with industry safety standards. We challenge standard practices to find safer, more sustainable solutions.
Contact Us
To discuss your tree care needs, request a free site visit, or get a quote, contact our team:
02382 440473info@hrgtreesurgeons.co.ukOpen Monday to Friday, 08:00-17:00