Construction firm to expand with new South Coast offices

Beard Construction has unveiled a plan to extend its market footprint and open an office on the south coast.

The family-owned company already has bases in Bristol, Guildford and Oxford, with a head office in Swindon.

The location of the new office is now being finalised and will open in the first quarter of 2024.

Guildford director Pat Hughes will run the new base. He will be replaced in Guildford by new director Tom Jenkinson, who has joined Beard after 20 years at Willmott Dixon, most recently as a director leading the firm’s Central South regional construction office.

Beard recently won a place on the South West section of the £8.2bn Southern Construction Framework, which relates to construction for all public and third sector organisations in the region. The new office will give Beard a base in the region from which to tender for framework contracts.

The company has already carried out some projects in Hampshire and East Sussex, where it has an established network of construction partners and peers.

Director Mike Hedges said: “This plan has been some 18 months in the making and is a significant decision for the company.

“The fact that Beard has been in existence for 130 years and has opened just three offices gives some indication of the financial prudence which drives our decision-making. That we are expanding when much of our sector is facing challenges also demonstrates the strength of our financial stability and confidence in the future.”