Contractor Henry Brothers is celebrating the tenth anniversary of the opening of its first English office with record turnover and growth.

Part of the Northern Irish-based Henry Brothers Group, the company set up in Nottingham in February 2015 and following significant success in the North established an office in Manchester in September 2022.

It was originally named Henry Brothers Midlands and launched with a handful of staff.

Under the leadership of managing director Ian Taylor and fellow directors John Sowter, John Fielding and Justin Hicklin, the company has grown strongly and consistently to become a £65m-a-year-turnover business, with a team of 60.

Now renamed Henry Brothers Construction to reflect its work nationally, the business has expanded across the country - delivering key infrastructure developments including schools, university buildings, defence facilities and blue-light schemes.

MD Ian Taylor said:

“The Nottingham office was opened in 2015 to complement Henry Brothers’ offices in Northern Ireland and Scotland. We started from scratch in the Midlands and have steadily grown to become a key member of the construction industry across the Midlands, into Yorkshire, the North West and further afield."

“Our current order book stretches from the East of England across to the West Midlands and up into the North West, supporting our clients with significant infrastructure schemes."

“We have delivered major projects for a wide variety of sectors including education, health, blue-light and defence, as well as for public bodies and commercial businesses. Many of these have been repeat contracts.

“I am beyond proud of the team we have created at Henry Brothers Construction, thrilled at the growth we have achieved, and look forward to building on what we have already accomplished for both the company and our many clients.”

Among the projects delivered by Henry Brothers since launching in the Midlands ten years ago are the joint headquarters for Nottinghamshire Police and Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service, the net zero nursery and forest school at Staffordshire University, Loughborough University’s SportPark Pavilion 4 - the first Passivhaus development on the university campus – and multiple projects at various military bases including a new dye pod facility for the Red Arrows at RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire, plus four schemes delivered for Nottingham Trent University, including the Dryden Enterprise Centre.

Henry Brothers Construction is currently on a number of well-established national and regional Frameworks including Crown Commercial Service, Pagabo, Procure23, Department for Education, Ministry of Justice, North West Construction Hub, The University of Manchester and more.

It specialises in delivering projects up to £30m in value, working in partnership with clients across a range of sectors including education, defence, blue-light, health, custodial and commercial.

With defence projects a significant part of the work undertaken by Henry Brothers Construction, more than 75% of staff are security cleared.

“Our ethos has always been to work hard and get the job done,” added Ian Taylor. “Our practical approach ensures integrity, reliability, quality, innovation and sustainability for all our partners and in all we do. These values were in the DNA of Henry Brothers when it was first established and are still very much evident throughout the business today.

“We take enormous pride in our work because when we take on a project, we see it as an opportunity to deliver something inspiring that will benefit the community and the environment, long into the future. We are proud that many of our projects are secured through repeat business.”

Henry Brothers Construction has an outstanding health and safety record, having been RoSPA Gold Award holders for eight years, with another rating due shortly.

Last year, Henry Brothers received a King’s Award for Enterprise for Sustainable Development in recognition of its commitment to responsible business and sustainable practices, which have been at the heart of Henry Brothers’ operations since its inception.

The story of Henry Brothers first began in 1976 when Jim Henry set up a small construction business called H&K construction, focusing on small-scale construction projects in Northern Ireland. Trading under this name for ten years, in 1986 the business became known as Henry Brothers. As it continued to flourish, several acquisitions followed during the 1990s, and Henry Brothers - along with the acquired businesses - became part of the wider Henry Group.

Henry Brothers is now recognised as a leading construction company with offices in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The Henry Group, meanwhile, comprises a number of manufacturing and construction sector companies, ranging from external construction through to interiors fit-out.

Photo: John Fielding, Commercial Director at Henry Brothers Construction, David Henry, Group Managing Director, Ian Taylor, Managing Director at Henry Brothers Construction, Clare Swaine, Business Development Manager at Henry Brothers Construction, Justin Hicklin, Construction Director at Henry Brothers Construction, and John Sowter, Design and Planning Director at Henry Brothers Construction.