One of the UK’s leading land promoters and developers has announced two key promotions to strengthen its infrastructure delivery arm and solidify its trademark offerings in the sector.
L&Q Estates, whose HQ is in Warwick, has promoted Simon Taylor to Head of Construction and Stuart Hodgkiss to Head of Technical.
Simon has held various appointments within the construction industry, including working for the building materials conglomerate CEMEX and the multi-national civil engineering contractor, Skanska, where he led on major projects for clients including Highways England, Network Rail and HS2.
Simon also had experience working for the highly-regarded civil and structural design consultancy Tony Gee and Partners before joining L&Q Estates in 2018.
Simon has risen through the ranks from Project Manager to Associate Technical Director, Technical Director and now Head of Construction.
Having worked with Stuart on numerous successful projects, Simon is keen to continue this effective relationship, utilising Stuart’s and his teams’ technical proficiency to enhance the management of forthcoming construction contracts.
Simon said: “We are fortunate to have colleagues, working within the department, who are experienced construction and engineering professionals. This expertise would ordinarily be procured externally. However for us, this coveted resource is readily available in-house.”
Stuart started his career at Birmingham City Council on its training programme and rose to Senior Engineer level, preparing and managing the design of projects including improvements to primary routes into the city.
After eleven years, he moved into the private sector, before setting up a new infrastructure design consultancy, THDA Ltd, in 2003, where one of its clients was L&Q Estates. THDA Ltd was subsequently acquired by a larger entity through a full equity buyout in 2019.
After exiting the business following the sale, he took a sabbatical for a year, before joining L&Q Estates as Technical Director in 2020, and has now been promoted to Head of Technical at the company.
Stuart said: “I have worked closely with Simon and his team over the past three years and will continue that at a strategic level.
“The construction team require detailed information to turn the plans into reality and we present them with precise details to be able to implement all the various elements of each development.
“Head of Technical involves managing the preparation and technical approval of all of the technical infrastructure details required for construction on site, such as highways, footways, cycleways, new junctions, drainage and earthworks, which can then be assembled as detailed construction packs for the teams on the ground.”
Adrian Clack, Managing Director at L&Q Estates, said: “Simon and Stuart’s promotions at L&Q Estates demonstrate our faith in their abilities, experience and determination to set high standards in their teams.
“We are securing new development opportunities across the UK and are continuing to drive the business forward.”