Expansion on the cards as construction consultancy delivers £600m projects

A Leeds-based construction consultant’s health and safety team is expanding after advising on £600m worth of construction projects in its first year, with a further £200m in the pipeline including new contracts for Waterloo International Terminus, Birmingham International Airport and Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham.

Building and cost consultants Projex launched the division last summer in response to the growing focus within the industry on mitigating health and safety risks in construction following recent government legislation.

A successful first year has included advising on the construction of 2,500 student accommodation beds across several UK sites, as well as advising on 1.25m sq ft of retail space, 4m sq ft of industrial space and being retained by Land Securities to provide a range of services including overseeing the installation of solar PV panels on the White Rose Shopping Centre, the largest installation of its kind in the UK.

As a result of the project wins, the department has recruited Sarah-Jane Denniss as senior health and safety consultant to the Leeds office.

Denniss is a former senior health and safety consultant at NPS in Leeds and will be responsible for a series of projects across the Yorkshire region.

Head of health and safety, Chris Thomson, said: “Both clients and architects welcome the opportunity to outsource health & safety requirements to our experienced and solutions-based team.

“Our level of repeat work is exceptional and it is great to be part of the wider Projex team, which is seen as one of the UK’s most progressive consultancies, helping clients and architects to mitigate development and construction risk from design stage through to completion.”

Projex was founded in 2008 and now employs more than 40 people across its three offices in Leeds, Solihull and London.