Tenacious tykes

When the Holroyd Construction Group was founded in 1967, it was a very different business to what it has become today. Then, it was focused on civil engineering, which it maintained until comparatively recently.
But, tired of the low margins, the group changed tack in the mid-1990s, driven by the vision of chairman Edward Holroyd. A successful businessman away from construction, notably in the energy sector, Holroyd wanted to turn the group in to more of a multi-disciplinary building contractor. He felt there was potential to boost its profit and turnover considerably, while remaining primarily a regional contractor.
Holroyd set about headhunting a suitable managing director who could take on the expansion he envisaged and in 2002, Chris Deighton was recruited to the post from Birse Civils.
Deighton's approach is simple: get away from higher risk, traditionally-tendered contracts, and move towards more repeat business and partnering-style deals.
So far, his strategy seems to be working. Turnover has almost doubled to £17m since he arrived and earlier this year the contractor landed its first partnering deal with North East Lincolnshire Council.
The firm operates across a range of sectors, notably prisons, schools and utilities, and has worked on projects as diverse as the Cleethorpes Light Railway and a stand extension at Leeds United Football Club - though it may not be seeing much repeat business from that particular client in the near future.