黑洞社区

Medium-sized contractor Oakmont Construction has poached two board directors from McLaren and one director from PwC as it targets further expansion.

Patrick Mays and David McDonnell join the Essex-based contractor from McLaren Construction, while Simon Hardwick has joined the firm from PwC Legal鈥檚 real estate practice. Mays has been appointed as Oakmont鈥檚 business development director, a role he held at McLaren for eight years. McDonnell was pre-construction director at McLaren for 10 years and will reprise the role at Oakmont, while Hardwick - a non-executive member of the management board at the RICS - will become the firm鈥檚 non-executive chairman.

In accounts filed at Companies House for the 2015 calendar year, the contractor posted turnover of 拢16.4m, up from 拢9.1m the previous year.

Speaking to 黑洞社区, Mays said the firm will not target 鈥渦ncontrolled growth鈥� but 鈥渂uild on its established business鈥� and target repeat work with blue chip clients like Aviva and Aberdeen Asset Management. He added that the firm has identified a 鈥済ap in the market鈥� and will go for jobs bigger firms overlook.

Mays said: 鈥淲e have a mantra of right job, right client, right price. A lot of major contractors are going for 拢15m plus jobs. We feel there is a gap in the market for the 拢1m to 拢10m jobs, we see there鈥檚 a real opportunity in that market for us.鈥�

Oakmont does new build and fit out work in the commercial, leisure, industrial and out of town retail sectors. Mays said the firm is targeting work in education having recently won its first small-scale job in the sector, but ruled out residential work.