People: Company chair steps down after 35 years; Interim CFO for listed games developer; Appointments to help firm win housing market contracts; and more

Clugston Group, a privately owned company with interests in construction, logistics, facilities management and property development, has announced the retirement of chairman John Clugston as from 31 January 2020.

John, who has been chairman for over 35 years, will hand over the reins to David Clugston, with the appointment taking effect from 1 February 2020. To ensure a smooth transition, David, in the meantime, has taken up the role of deputy chairman.

John Clugston originally joined the family business in the 1950s, working for his father LG Clugston, who established the business in North Lincolnshire in 1937. He was particularly involved in expanding the company’s expertise in the recycling of blast furnace slag for the iron and steel industries, which ultimately led to the technology being licensed throughout the world.

Working his way up through the company ranks – starting as assistant to the works manager in the early 1960s, he became chairman of various divisions of the company – before he eventually became chairman and managing director of Clugston Holdings Limited, now Clugston Group, in 1984.

He has been an invaluable driving force behind the growth and stability of the business for over 60 years, during which time the Group has evolved to include construction, distribution, facilities management and property development businesses, with turnover reaching more than £170m.

John will continue to promote Clugston’s strong reputation and involvement in charity work, as well as the Clugston brand.

David Clugston said: “We would like to thank John for his unwavering commitment and for being at the forefront of the growth and stability of the business over a very long period of time.”

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Wakefield-headquartered global games developer Team17 has appointed Mark Crawford as interim chief financial officer with immediate effect.

He replaces Jo Jones, who announced her intention to leave the company to take up another role elsewhere. He will work alongside Jo ensuring an orderly handover until 22 November, at which time she will formally leave the business.

Crawford joins Team17 from TravelUp, a privately-owned online travel business, where he has held the role of chief financial officer since 2018.

Previously, he was CFO of AIM-listed TP Group plc, overseeing fundraisings of in excess of £38m, used to deploy a successful M&A and commercialisation strategy.

Prior to TP Group, he held a number of positions with large corporates, including Glaxo Pharmaceuticals, PepsiCo Restaurants, Gondola Restaurants and more recently Kingfisher Plc, supporting their major pan-European supply chain and logistics transformation programme.

Crawford is expected to remain as interim CFO on a full-time basis until at least April 2020 or until a permanent CFO is appointed.

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Sheffield-based Fulcrum has bolstered its Housing Business Development Team, building on the sustained 74% growth the company has achieved in the housing sector in the past year.

The addition of Kelly Buttery and Sarah Matthews strengthens the company’s business development function as it works towards securing new contracts in the UK housing markets.

Fulcrum, which is the only independent multi-utility infrastructure provider servicing the whole of Britain, designs and delivers gas, electricity and water pipelines and connections.

The company has directly employed multi-utility engineering teams located across the country, delivering projects in the UK housing market and supporting Fulcrum’s significant growth in the sector.

Its activity in the housing market has contributed to increased revenues for the company, which in its audited preliminary results for the year ending 31 March 2019 rose to £48.9m, an increase of 20.4 percent on its previous financial year.

Both Matthews and Buttery join the Housing Business Development Team from other areas of Fulcrum’s operations, representing the company’s commitment to supporting the career development of its people.

Having been with the company for 16 years, Matthews is multi-skilled in all aspects of the business. As a GIRS-accredited design engineer, she has spent the last five years developing and growing relationships with key account customers.

Buttery joined the business in 2004 and, having gained her GIRS accreditation as a design engineer, went on to lead Fulcrum’s multi-utility design team. Most recently, Kelly lead the Asset Growth focus of the business for its independent Gas Transporter (iGT) and independent Distribution Network Operator (iDNO) operations.

Craig Baugh, director of sales and marketing at Fulcrum, said: “Delivering effective utility infrastructure for the housing sector, in close collaboration with developers, is essential for the country to meet its new build targets.

“Fulcrum has achieved strong growth in the sector by providing an agile and expert service, which is achieved through the strong relationships our team has developed with our customers.

“Our continued commitment to investing in developing our people, enabling them to become increasingly multi-skilled in order to not only to meet, but also anticipate changing customer and industry demands has enabled our latest promotion of both Sarah and Kelly.

“They are both extremely technically adept and talented individuals whose experience of the industry and our business will be of real benefit to our housing customers.”

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Thirsk-based Twisted Automotive has welcomed six more new faces to the team, as the Land Rover Defender specialist continues to expand.

Joining the team at Sussex Court are Twisted North America director Tom Maxwell, senior technician Ryan Dimery-Seek, accounts assistant Melissa Bourne, parts assistant Dan Orchard, workshop manager Stephen Boumphrey and technician Ellis Carroll.

Maxwell, 24, from York, is overseeing the North American side of the business, that launched earlier this year. He has significant experience in the US market, having led 60 staff and exported around 250 Defenders from the UK to North America in his previous role as business development director for an automotive firm.

Working alongside him will be Dimery-Seek, who has 12 years’ experience restoring and rebuilding vehicles for the US market. Both divide their time between Twisted’s North Yorkshire HQ and the new US base in Virginia.

Bourne will support the growing finance team, having previously worked in accounts for a new-build house company and a school trust. She said the role offered her the chance to utilise skills learned while studying for her AAT.

Parts assistant Orchard is a former warehouse manager and engineer who moved to Twisted as the parts department expanded, with the aim of learning more about the company and how it has become one of the UK’s leading Defender specialists.

Technician Carroll has moved to Twisted from sister company LR Motors. A level 3-qualified motor vehicle technician, Defender enthusiast Ellis began working on Land Rovers when he was just 18.

Overseeing the workshop and coachworks paint department is Boumphrey. With 11 years’ experience with a local dealership, he will supervise all current Twisted builds.

Twisted founder and MD Charles Fawcett said: “It has been wonderful to welcome new faces to the Twisted team. They each bring a fantastic range of skills and experience to the table and offer invaluable support the company as we continue to grow.

“This is a company born from passion and hard work – somewhere you can both learn from and enjoy being a part of. This is a hugely exciting time that will take Twisted onto the next level.”