Akela Group moves into England with new Leeds hub
Scottish civils contractor Akela Group is moving into the English market with the opening of a new division in Leeds.
The new North of England hub will lead expansion plans outside of Akela’s traditional Scottish base.
The firm expects its business to grow by 10% over the next two years as a result of the move.
The new Leeds team will be led by Construction Manager, Martin Leahy, who brings over 15 years industry experience having previously worked with the Robertson Group and Laing O’Rourke.
Group company Akela Ground Engineering has secured its first contract at Knaresborough in the North of Yorkshire and is currently tendering for a variety of new housing and commercial build contracts throughout the county.
Across Scotland the Akela Group currently employs 300 staff providing civil engineering, construction, piling and training services.
Mark Markey, Akela Group Managing Director, said: “We are delighted to see our long term ambition to expand and grow the company in front of a UK audience come to fruition. We are seeing increased levels of demand for the wide range of ground engineering and civil engineering services, particularly in the North of England and we are well placed to meet that growing demand.
“The opening of the Leeds hub presents an excellent growth opportunity for the Akela Group and it will bring an abundance of employment opportunities and economic benefits to the region and beyond.”
Leahy said: “It’s an exciting time for the Akela Group and there is a huge opportunity to grow the business in the North and I am delighted to be leading the team at the new Leeds hub.
“I am passionate about collaboration and delivering insightful solutions for clients and l look forward to working on a wide range of projects as we realise the growth ambitions in the North of England.”
New investors to drive growth at Nixon Hire
Site equipment specialist Nixon Hire has announced an investment by Pricoa Private Capital in the business.
Pricoa is the private capital business of Prudential Financial, Inc – one of the largest life insurance and financial services firms in the world.
This deal benefits customers, employees and industry stakeholders as the investment accelerates Nixon Hire’s growth strategy. The directors and senior management team will also be invested in the company alongside Pricoa.
The partnership with Pricoa was instigated to facilitate the exit of three Nixon Hire shareholders and consolidate the shareholding of Graham Nixon, CEO and his father, the founder of Nixon Hire, John Nixon.
Graham and John Nixon remain significant majority shareholders and are now looking to take the business to the next level following its 54 year history as a 100% family owned company.
Graham Nixon, CEO of Nixon Hire said: “We have significant ambitions for the business and this partnership will enable us to accelerate our strategic plans to retain and attract new talent as well as grow our product and depot network. We will look to serve our customers better than ever before, as we invest further in our business.
“It’s a great balance, we have the benefit of remaining a family business as well as access to the expertise of Pricoa.
“We warmly welcome Pricoa as a strategic partner and are excited to work with them to unlock the further potential of Nixon Hire.”
Ed Barker, Senior Vice President at Pricoa, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with Graham and his team, and we match their ambitions to grow Nixon whilst remaining true to the heritage of the business.
“Pricoa’s strategy is based on close relationships with strong management teams and solid companies, and we hope to be able to help Nixon on the next step of its strategic journey. This investment is positive for all Nixon stakeholders and we look forward to continuing the business’ long-established positive presence in the UK equipment hire markets.”
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PERI lets engineers get hands-on
PERI has held its first CPD (continuing professional development) event to give engineers from Richter and 48.3 Scaffolding Design Limited an insight into its scaffolding range and applications.
The event was held at PERI’s new £15m facility in Brentwood, allowing attendees to get closer to the temporary works systems they are used to working with on screen.
The agenda involved a blend of product knowledge and practical exercises, which gave the engineers a better understanding of how scaffold and formwork designs impact the end user and the construction process on site.
Graduate Engineer at Richter, Huda Lohiya, said: “I found the workshop really useful; any time I had a question I didn’t feel embarrassed to ask it, which is really important, especially as a woman in engineering.
“Being able to implement the components and put them together during the practical exercise has helped me to understand some of the struggles on site. So now, when I think about designing a project, I’m thinking of ways to simplify the process and how I can make it easier for those building the system.”
Charles Stratford, Business Development Manager – PERI UP, added: “In today’s world, it’s really important that we share our knowledge and work collaboratively with the whole supply chain. The days are gone where you stand alone in winning major projects and promoting safe working practices.
“We feel it’s important that engineers have a full appreciation of weight, buildability, and the integration with other systems to be able to put the best design forward.
“We’ve had a lot of positive feedback around the event, and we look forward to hosting more days like this where we can support the next generation of industry workers as we strive to make the construction process more efficient and safer.”