Double director promotion at Metnor Construction

Metnor Construction, part of the Newcastle based Metnor Group, is delighted to announce the promotion of Sean McNicholas to operations director and Chris McDonnell to pre-construction director. These key promotions support Metnor Construction’s ambitious plans for growth, demonstrating its commitment to investing in talent and expanding the business on the back of serving a number of new clients.

Metnor Construction was established in 2002 and celebrates its 20th anniversary next year. They operate primarily within the commercial, care, leisure, industrial, private residential schemes/student accommodation and data centre sectors. The Principal Contractor employs 65 people and is based at Metnor House in Killingworth, Newcastle upon Tyne.

With the expertise and experience to carry out major construction projects, typical contract values for the business range from £1m to £60m. Despite the challenges of the pandemic, turnover for Metnor Construction for the end of 2021 is expected to be circa £75m with a forecasted turnover of £95m in 2022 due to the already secured contracts of £65m.

Operating across the UK, recently completed and current schemes for the business include a number of hotel developments across the North East, leisure centres in Norfolk, London & the Midlands, 360 PRS residential units in Rugby and two data centres in the South.

Sean McNicholas joined the firm in June 2019, bringing with him a wealth of experience having previously worked at a number of national construction firms.

Sean McNicholas, operations director at Metnor Construction said: “It’s been a challenging yet hugely rewarding time since joining Metnor Construction.  The pandemic threw a number of challenges at us, but we have managed to come out of it stronger than we went in.  To be rewarded with a directorship after this difficult year is a huge personal achievement, but also shows how the business promotes from within.

“I’m really proud that we’ve managed to keep our staff safe while delivering such prestigious projects to an exceptionally high standard of quality. Going forward, we’re looking to recruit a number of key operational site roles to help us achieve our ambitious growth plans on some really exciting projects.”

Chris McDonnell joined Metnor Construction in January 2019 having spent the previous 13 years working for a national main contractor. He initially joined Metnor Construction as a Senior Estimator & quickly established himself as a key member of the Pre-Construction team.

Chris McDonnell, pre-construction director at Metnor Construction said: “I’m very proud to be appointed Pre-Construction Director. The pandemic has certainly delivered many challenges for businesses across the UK including the construction sector, but by being agile and adapting to those changes as well as being surrounded by some fantastic people, we are delighted to be up and running safely and looking forward to the future”.

David Laidlaw joined Metnor Construction 17 years ago and has been part of the success in growing the business over these years.

David Laidlaw, commercial director at Metnor Construction added: “We’ve got a strong order book ahead and although 2020 was a difficult year for us, we have more targeted and profitable work secured in the pipeline as we head into the second half of 2021 and beyond and I’m optimistic about the year ahead. We’re forecasting record turnover next year and then again the year after and it’s thanks to our fantastic team and supportive clients and suppliers that we’re tracking such ambitious growth.”

Metnor Construction is a firmly established business in the construction industry but still retains a family ethos with a close-knit North East work ethic, which supports staff retention and a strong company culture. Despite Metnor Construction’s growth, the company’s core values of working together, embracing change, being stronger together, challenging yourself and playing your part remain.

Chris Cant, CEO of Metnor Group said: “I’m delighted to congratulate Chris and Sean on their promotions to director. Bringing a wealth of experience to their roles, their promotions are testament to their hard work and dedication.

While it’s been a challenging time for all businesses, it’s important we continue to plan for tomorrow and invest in our people. Ensuring we develop future leadership signals the confidence and commitment we have in the market and these promotions reflect the importance we place on delivering the very best service possible to our clients.”