4 minute read
LOOKING AHEAD SUTCLIFFE
LOOKING AHEAD
The last 18 months have been an unusual and unprecedented time for businesses, business leaders and employees, not only in the UK but across the world.
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One thing that months of lockdowns and restrictions has taught us though, is that we are all more resilient than we could have ever imagined pre-2020, and despite plenty of woe, there have been numerous success stories that have come from the pandemic, with the construction sector in particular bouncing back.
Civil and structural engineering firm, Sutcliffe has excelled in the face of adversity, and after announcing a 5% increase in profits in the first half of its financial year, the Liverpoolbased company is very much looking forward not back, with another 12 months of growth planned.
Having already secured £250m worth of new projects this year, further demonstrating the company’s reputation as market leaders, Sutcliffe’s managing director, Sean Keyes has continually placed a huge impetus on his staff over the last three decades, with the firm's headcount also increasing by 16% since the start of 2021.
Discussing the on-going success of the multi-disciplinary, BIM-accredited chartered consultants, Sean Keyes has again sung the praises of his team, stating that framework wins, growth and multi-million pound project work would not have been possible without the dedication and hard work of his apprentices, engineers and directors:
“From March 2020, we’ve focused all of our attention on ensuring that our clients and staff are happy, and we’ve made sure that every aspect of what we do from housing, to schools and hospitals, has been a great success. We’re now reaping the rewards and that is shown by the amount of repeat and new work that is coming through our doors.
“Our growth is very important to us, but it is vital that we grow organically and slowly. We’ve managed to retain all of the frameworks that we’d previously been on before renewal, which is testament to the quality of our work. We are always looking to promote and recruit from within, and by growing our geographical area, we’re in a good position to win more work throughout the North West and beyond.”
With an illustrious history and a longstanding reputation in the Liverpool City Region, having been a prominent fixture of the construction sector since 1985, Sutcliffe takes great pride in its city and the infrastructure in it.
Working on the likes of Liverpool Women’s Hospital, Liverpool Lime Street and the University of Liverpool over the last three decades, Sean Keyes and his team have overseen Liverpool’s growth, and with recent large scale projects also including the Royal Liverpool University Hospital, the company is continuing to strive within the healthcare sector.
“The pandemic has seen us work on a number of healthcare projects, including the new Covid ward at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital, which is of course incredibly rewarding. We’ve also helped out several other local authorities including Wigan Council, to ensure that all of our regions are in a position to have the very best extra-care facilities available, which not only benefits the economy, but also those that require healthcare the most.”
Earlier this year, Sutcliffe appointed three new directors to its board - promoting Jacqui Johnson to communications director, Anoop Jayakkar to technical director and Ian Robinson to finance director, and with the trio working at the company for a combined four decades, there is a clear pathway of growth at the firm.
Starting as an apprentice YTS himself at Sutcliffe alongside fellow director William Baldwin, Sean Keyes has further stressed the importance of not only progressing the careers of those already at the company, but also unearthing and nurturing the ‘stars of tomorrow’, which he has done so far through the recently founded Kickstart scheme. “Our apprenticeship scheme, as well as the government’s Kickstart programme, is very important to the economy and to Sutcliffe. We’ve been very vocal about the fact that it is difficult to recruit the right calibre of apprentices, who have the right work ready attitude and skill set, but slowly we are filling the gaps and finding those young and hungry engineers that are ready to grab this opportunity with both hands.
“All of our directors know the importance of finding the next generation who will be building our new schools, homes and hospitals, and I have no doubt that Sutcliffe will continue to play a large role in the evolution of the construction sector, both in the Liverpool City Region and throughout the North West.”
As Sutcliffe gears up for the final quarter of 2021, it will be one of reflection and consolidation, with the company well on its way to reporting another record year in 12 months time.
Sean Keyes finished by saying: “In the next year, we’re looking to bring on at least another director to the company, and I hope that we will also have been appointed on several new high-scale school and hospital contracts, which will be huge for the company.
“In 2022, I hope that we will have built another £500m worth of new home contracts in the region, and with the construction industry on an upward curve, I predict a very bright future ahead for us all.”
