Property People: Wates makes senior promotion; Caddick adds to board; and more
Wates Construction’s growth across the North East and Yorkshire is gathering pace with the promotion of Steven Bell to operations director, becoming the latest in a line of senior appointments in the region.
The promotion to operations director comes as Bell nears his fifth year with the business following his appointment as construction manager for the North East in 2015, a newly created position intended to bolster Wates’ intended growth in the region.
Bell, who became operations manager for the business in 2018, will now oversee the strategic direction of key elements of Wates’ portfolio across the North East and Yorkshire, including pre-construction, project delivery and client aftercare.
His promotion is the latest in a series of changes in the regional senior team at Wates Construction, which has recently included the promotion of David Wingfield to business unit director and the appointment of Kyle McGrory as regional commercial director.
Paul Dodsworth, managing director of Wates Construction North, said: “Steve joined the business at a pivotal time and he has been instrumental to our growth and success in the North East. His time with Wates has been a journey of delivering high quality projects with impeccable health and safety for very happy clients and his focus and drive will be fundamental to his leadership of our operations across the region going forward.”
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Caddick Construction, part of the Caddick Group, has strengthened its board with two appointments.
Chris Wilson, formally commercial manager will take his place on the board as commercial development director, joined by Richard Gaukrodger, formally construction manager, now construction director.
Managing director Andrew Murray said: “Caddick Construction is enjoying a stellar year on all fronts and we are delighted to recognise and reward success with these latest Board appointments. Both Chris and Richard have made a major contribution to Caddick over the years and will continue to do so at Board level, bringing their additional expertise and experience to the table.”
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David Allwood
Civil and structural engineering consultancy JPG Group has announced that former joint managing director Gary Howarth has retired as a director of the business but will continue as a consultant providing advice on projects and assistance with the transition to his successors.
Meanwhile, new director David Allwood and existing director Matthew Potter will assume more responsibility for the strategic direction of the business and overall client servicing.
Chris Harding will continue to run the business operationally as managing director.
Harding said: “Gary has been a fantastic leader in JPG for many years providing over 30 years of dedicated service. His contribution has helped us to create the strong business that we have today with a broad and comprehensive consultancy offering in civil and structural engineering. We are pleased that he will remain involved as a consultant as we introduce new expertise and bring forward some very talented associates.
“David and Matthew have both served many years at JPG and understand the business implicitly. Their respective expertise in structural engineering is exemplary and I am delighted that they are both committed to the business in the long term, bringing their own ideas and management to the table.”
JPG continues to enjoy strong growth, reporting a substantial increase in fee turnover in 2018. It now employs 50 people at its Leeds headquarters and has recently introduced new propositions in Strategic Land Engineering, Geospatial Analysis and BIM Services.
Recent instructions include the 90-acre Symmetry Park Darlington for db symmetry, and Skelton Gate in Leeds, a 170-acre joint venture development between Evans Property Group and Keyland Developments.
