Member Article

High-profile North East construction appointments a ‘huge coup’ for Meldrum

Meldrum Construction has appointed well-known North East construction names to accelerate its growth plans.

John Lee OBE, who spent ten years as chief executive of Your Homes Newcastle, and former Gentoo Tolent director Robin Cairns, have both linked up with the Gateshead-based firm of late.

Mr Lee is now Chairman of Meldrum Construction, which was established in 2001 and employs over 170 people from its headquarters in Dunston, whilst Mr Cairns has become Director of Development.

The new director appointments were hailed by managing director Dave Meldrum as ‘a huge coup’ for the business, and follow the company’s recent announcement it had returned to profitability in 2015, posting a profit of £406k against a record turnover of £29.7m.

Dave explained: “The fact we can attract John and Robin here, both of whom have such huge experience and reputation in the North East, is a real endorsement of the work we do and how we do it.

“We are an ambitious and expanding business with strong values and a loyal workforce, and are well positioned to take advantage of future opportunities, more so now than ever with John and Robin on board.”

Mr Lee left award-winning Your Homes Newcastle in December after a distinguished 39-year career in local government in Newcastle. He spent a decade as chief executive of the arms-length management organisation (Almo), which manages local authority housing in Newcastle, and was awarded an OBE in 2012 for Services to the City of Newcastle and Housing.

Now Chairman of Meldrum Construction, Mr Lee said: “This is an interesting move for me, having spent my whole career in the public sector, and one I am pleased to have made. I have known of this business for a long time and am very impressed by its values, which was a big reason for me coming here.

“I am a strong believer in supporting local businesses and I have over 39 years’ worth of public sector experience to bring here, which will hopefully help this business grow, progress and create more skilled jobs in this region. Construction has been a tough sector in the last 5 to 10 years and we have seen some very established names disappear, but Meldrum is very well managed and well placed to develop further.”

Mr Cairns is well-known for his roles in design and business development with big construction names including Rok, Kier and latterly Gentoo Tolent. His role at Meldrum will see him overseeing business development, design, bid management and marketing.

He said: “I’m delighted to be joining such a multifaceted construction company and I’m excited by our plans for growth.

“We already boast some excellent existing contracts with major public and private sector clients and I look forward to building our client base across both sectors and strengthening our position in the construction industry.”