Construction fit out firm Morris & Spottiswood is unleashing a ‘north of England’ sales drive after appointing a new business development manager.
Former AECOM business development manager Martyn Howie joins the firm with extensive experience within multinational construction and engineering sectors. His new role will involve targeting fit-out, housing, mechanical and electrical (M&E) and maintenance contracts around Morris & Spottiswood’s regional hubs in Leeds and Warrington.
Morris & Spottiswood CEO Jon Dunwell said his new charge joins at an exciting time for the £80million turnover business which employs circa 400 people. He said Mr Howie will ‘fill a void’ in the firm’s sales arsenal providing greater reach across counties including Durham, Cumbria, Northumberland and Lancashire.
A key focus will involve maintaining momentum within the firm’s rapidly expanding M&E ‘services division’, which is run from the Leeds site and grew by 54pc between 2016 and 2017, rising from circa £6million to £9million.
“We are very pleased to welcome Martyn into the Morris & Spottiswood team,” said Mr Dunwell. “Having worked for the likes of Fortune 500 listed AECOM, as well as local and national architectural practices, he has precisely the sort of background we require to achieve our growth targets. Martyn comes with in-depth understanding of engineering, design, consulting, construction, and management services for a wide range of clients.
“He will be playing an important role developing our business right across the north of England, reaching further and deeper than we have gone before. We see huge potential to grow in the Yorkshire region surrounding our Leeds site, which has become a major hub in the last 12 months following significant investment.
“There are further growth opportunities in other large conurbations such as Hull, Middlesbrough, Durham, Newcastle, Preston, Kendal and Carlisle. These have remained relatively untapped for us until now. Our aim is to unlock this northern belt by combining our national delivery model with highly skilled local service providers.
“Morris & Spottiswood’s investment in people and recent acquisition of the Leeds city-centre office shows a firm commitment to the region. We are laying down strong foundations to drive turnover past the £150million barrier in the next ten years.”
Sales in the North of England grew by £20million between 2016 and 2017 – making it the fastest growing region for the nationwide firm. It works across many sectors including education, retail, financial, housing, leisure, health and commercial.
Mr Howie said: “One of the key factors which attracted me to Morris & Spottiswood is the ambition of the firm. It has a progressive and dynamic outlook with a solid vision for the future,” he said. “It has all the ingredients to grow rapidly with experienced management, a large and versatile team and a strong industry reputation.
“There are many areas I see potential to grow market share from maintenance contracts to facilities management and technical services contracts. We also have specialist teams working within national framework, M&E (Mechanical and Electrical) and flooring divisions. We have a broad remit and will be targeting projects ranging from £10,000 to £30m. This includes new build developments, multi trade modernisation programmes, extensive external fabric upgrades and complex M&E services installations.”
For further details about Morris & Spottiswood visit www.morrisandspottiswood.co.uk
Background
Morris & Spottiswood is a family owned business founded in 1925 in Glasgow by George Morris and John Spottiswood. The early Morris & Spottiswood workshop serviced Glasgow’s strong industrial base. When the second generation of the Morris family were leading the business in the 1960′s, the shopfitting and construction divisions were built up. The business is now being led by the third generation of the Morris family and has a UK-wide reputation in fit-out, housing and maintenance, a turnover of around £80m and around 400 employees in offices in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Warrington and Leeds. The culture of the company has always remained strongly people-centred.