The managing director of a leading commercial property company based in Coventry has been appointed chairman ten years since the position was last held by his late father.
Robert Wigley is taking on the new role at The Wigley Group which was founded by his father, John, in 1964 as an agricultural plant hire company and has evolved over the years into a major commercial property, risk and construction firm.
Robert has been involved in the business from a young age and rose through the ranks to become managing director in 2005, three years before his father passed away.
His appointment as chairman is part of a company restructure to support its growth over the next decade.
James Davies, whose father, Gordon, worked alongside John Wigley and passed away in the same year of 2008, has moved from a director to managing director.
Robert said: “It is ten years since my father, John, and James’ father, Gordon, who together built the foundations of The Wigley Group, passed away.
“Since that fateful year, James and I have worked closely to drive the company forward to where it is today.
“It is therefore poignant that a decade on, I am taking on the position that was last held by my father and James is replacing me as managing director.
“I am looking forward to this new chapter which will see James and I continuing to work side-by-side as our fathers did to ensure all areas of the company grow and flourish.”
The restructure follows one of the company’s most significant years of growth, which included its merger with UK-wide main contractor Ciexbe Limited to form Wigley Building and Development, which is headed by construction director Charlie Brooks.
James said: “My father and John worked together since their teens. They were born a few months apart and died a few months apart in 2008, which is when I joined the company as estates manager and began working with Robert to carry it forward.
“We have made significant strides and it is fitting that we are now taking on these new roles as part of a restructure which will set the company up for the next ten years.
“It comes as we look ahead to this year moving from our current headquarters at Middlemarch Business Park in Coventry to Stockton House in Southam, the former country house we acquired in 2017.
“It will mark a close return to The Wigley Group’s roots with the company having started out around ten miles away in Barby, near Rugby, and reinforces the family history of which Robert and I are so proud.”
As part of the restructure, James Ellerington also moves from head of asset management to the new position of director of operations. He will oversee the new central services division which has been created to provide key support to all businesses within the Group.