Barnwood Construction, which has built a range of impressive commercial, industrial and other buildings for major UK clients, and turned over £100 million last year, has appointed Ben Ramsay as its new Managing Director.
Ben, who moves from his previous role as Operations Director for Kier Construction, is taking over from Simon Carey who will become the Gloucester-based Barnwood Group’s Chief Executive.
Barnwood Group has been established for more than 57 years and includes Barnwood Construction, Barnwood Shopfitting and Barnwood General Works (which undertakes specialist construction projects). It has seen considerable growth over the last decade and last year turned over more than £100 million, a record for the business to date. The Group as a whole now employs around 250 people.
Simon said: “We are delighted to welcome Ben to Barnwood at a time when the business is being offered significant opportunities. His breadth of knowledge and professionalism will further support our highly experienced teams across the business.”
Ben, 46, joins Barnwood following the company’s recent completion of a raft of successful building projects.
Its recent build at Honeybourne Place in Cheltenham is a major new development for the town and provides more than 64,000 sq ft of grade A office space. The St James’s Place office development in Cirencester, completed in 2016, was also a key project for the company.
A particularly challenging development for Barnwood was Gloucestershire College’s new campus at the Forest of Dean, which opened last year. A project many years in the making, it is now a landmark building and a major element in the Forest’s on-going regeneration.
As Operations Director for Kier Construction, Ben led the team which built the acclaimed Princess Anne Stand at Cheltenham Racecourse. He previously worked for Pearce Construction and Morgan Sindall.
He said: “I am delighted to be joining Barnwood which is a great opportunity to support the company through its next stage of evolution. The Group has a strong reputation and I have always admired the building work it has done.
“Every business is built on reputation and that’s what really appeals to me about Barnwood. Its customers and employees are at the heart of everything it does, and my challenge is to build on and strengthen that even further.
“As I take over the leadership of Barnwood Construction’s talented teams, I am committed to deliver it to the same, or even higher standards than before and look forward to broadening the portfolio of work undertaken by the Company.”
Ben will be spearheading a number of new construction projects, including the delivery of a £20 million contract with one of the UK’s biggest business and science park developers, MEPC, to build 250,000 sq ft of high tech industrial units at Silverstone in Northamptonshire, and major project at Bishop’s Cleeve in Cheltenham for Chancery Gate and Rivershill House, Cheltenham for Telereal Trillium.
Alongside his new role of Chief Executive, Simon will focus on Barnwood Shopfitting where its teams are working on a range of retail and office interior fitout projects, including banks, building societies and gyms, alongside its regular work with well-known high street fashion brands such as H&M, Jigsaw and Anthropologie.
Simon added: “The construction industry is demanding and competitive. Barnwood has always focused on its future and with Ben’s experience added to our already strong Board, we will continue to meet and exceed our client’s expectations.
“When I joined Barnwood in 2004 we were predominantly an industrial building contractor. Over the last 15 years we have diversified considerably, and I am looking forward to working alongside Ben in leading the Group’s next stage of growth.”
