Member Article

North East construction firm Howard Russell to expand following contract wins of £2m

Independent North East construction firm, Howard Russell, has taken on three new members of staff following further new contract wins of £2m in the last month.

The firm, which tripled its turnover last year, has recruited three new staff to assist in project and site management following its appointment as main contractor on building projects for Bon Coeur Fine Wines, ITV and Gestamp Tallent Automotive.

David Varty, sales director at Howard Russell said: “Last year was our most successful year to date, we completed a number of high profile projects and recruited five new staff to help manage the increase in workload. We are pleased to announce a strong first quarter to 2015 which has led to further job creation taking our total workforce to 26.”

“This latest round of appointments will further strengthen our team with additional capability and expertise that will help to meet the needs of our expanding business, whilst ensuring we continue to deliver a bespoke, quality service to our clients.”

The new recruits will assist in delivering Howard Russell’s latest contracts which include the conversion of a former agricultural building in Masham, North Yorkshire on behalf of wine merchants, Bon Coeur.

The project will create a bespoke fine wines establishment consisting of sales area, tasting area, offices and boardroom, kitchen area, large function room and a large wine storage facility.

They are also working on an extension of a large car manufacturing plant for Gestamp Tallent in Newton Aycliffe and the refurbishment and fit-out of ITV’s offices in Gateshead.

Ian Goss, commercial director at Howard Russell said: “During the past year we have seen an increase in both the quantity and quality of new enquiries and instructions as the construction sector continues to gather momentum across the region.

“Recent research suggests that confidence within the industry is continuing to build and we are poised for further growth as 2015 progresses.”

This wave of new instructions follows Howard Russell’s successful completion of £9m worth of projects during the last month including an extension of Akxo Nobel’s industrial unit in Felling, an office fit-out and extension for Maquet at Boldon Business Park, an extension of Plant 1 for Gestamp, and their first full BIM project which was a £3 million refurbishment of Mash Purveyors newly acquired 53,000 sq ft warehouse at the prestigious Park Royal Business Estate in northwest London.