New key man is appointed at success story Surgo

Sep 27 2007 By The Journal

SURGO Construction, one of the region’s leading construction companies, has announced the latest phase of its succession plans with a senior appointment to its board of directors.

Rory Gibson, a well-known figure in the regional business community has left his previous position at Barclays Bank, to join Surgo as a director and company secretary. This key appointment has been made in preparation for finance director Bill Blyth’s retirement in six months time. According to Surgo’s managing director, Ian Walker, Mr Gibson’s arrival heralds the next phase in the company’s well-orchestrated plans which are in place to ensure it remains the region’s leading contractor in the education sector and also continues to win prestigious contracts in the social housing sector whilst broadening its scope of work in other arenas, including commercial development.

He said: “As a company we continually strive to improve our product, the way we do business and importantly, recruit and retain high calibre staff – all of which will ensure that Surgo Construction continues to lead the way on major projects in the region’s education sector while developing a strong client base in other sectors.

“To do this we sometimes look outside of the construction sector when making appointments – I believe this sets us apart from our competitors. Rory Gibson’s appointment is a good example of this. When drawing up both the job and person specification for this role we were ever conscious that the right individual would need to have the correct mix of qualities such as past experience, sector knowledge and an engaging personality – an important attribute when joining a well established, experienced and highly regarded team. I believe, Rory is exactly the right person for the job. I am delighted to welcome him to Surgo Construction and look forward to his positive input continuing to further shape our success in the future.”

Originally from Cheshire, Mr Gibson spent some 30 years with Barclays Bank before taking up his new position with Surgo Construction.

He added: “I have spent the last eight years in the North-East and the past three of those working closely with construction and property-based companies. Surgo Construction is a good company with good people, providing a high quality product. Since its MBO in 2002 it has done exceptionally well and has grown significantly, increasing turnover and profits year on year.”

He added: “I am looking forward to being able to make a positive contribution to this already successful formula and playing my part in its continued success,”

Surgo’s turnover for the current year is anticipated to be in the region of £60m, increasing to £67m for the 2007/08 accounting period.