Member Article

Management changes to drive growth

A family run construction firm, which is approaching its 50th anniversary, has undergone a management shake-up designed to extend operations into new areas and take annual turnover past the £25 million mark.

The changes at P F Burridge see Phil Burridge take over at the helm and the arrival of experienced new build expert, Stephen McCoy as Commercial Director.

Phil’s brothers, David and Mark, have retired from the company their father Peter, now 86, incorporated in 1967.

The business, which is based on the Benton Square Industrial Estate in Newcastle - but also has a depot in Wakefield, Yorkshire – is expected to turn over around £20 million this year.

It employs 160 people and has built a sound reputation carrying out refurbishment and repair contracts throughout the North of England for universities, hospitals, housing associations and private sector clients.

However, the government backed drive to address the housing shortage by building more homes, opens up opportunities for new residential development, particularly for rent, through housing provider partners.

Said Phil: “Whilst we have been successful in growing our business based on improvement and refurbishment work, we now want to break into new sectors – particularly new build – and Stephen’s appointment adds huge experience in this area.

“In addition, his commercial expertise is already enabling us to examine new ways of working, which we believe will make us more efficient and competitive in the market place.

“This is a very exciting time for the business. As we approach our 50th anniversary we are planning investment and growth, which will see us move to the next level in the sector – becoming a full service construction partner, rather than a building contractor.”

Stephen McCoy has worked in construction for 30 years, most recently with Galliford Try Partnerships North and before that with Keepmoat Regeneration. With both these firms he played key roles in generating new business – developing partnerships with regional housing providers and securing new sites for private housing.

He said: “I am thrilled to have this new challenge with Burridge. As soon as I met Phil and heard his thoughts about how the business could develop, I felt I had something to offer which would support the initiative. I was quickly impressed with the set-up here and feel the business is well placed to progress.

“Our initial goal is to demonstrate that the skills we have applied to existing and previous projects are transferrable and that we now have the expertise to deliver successful new build developments. I have confidence that we can do this and am looking forward to the challenge.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Paul Dobbie .