Esh chief executive: ‘It’s been a hell of a journey’

Regional focus brings benefits for Durham firm

A strong regional focus has paid off for Esh Group, according to its chief executive Andy Radcliffe. Speaking exclusively to Construction News, he said that targeting jobs in the North East has delivered strong financial results and secured future business.

Radcliffe spoke after announcing the firm’s results for the 2023 calendar year, which included a pre-tax profit of £3.1m, up from £2m the previous year.

Although turnover remained at £261m, Esh improved its liquidity to £23m, up by £4m from the previous year. It also did not rely on its £6m credit line.

Radcliffe said: “We’ve put a very intense focus on the balance sheet as well as profit and loss. It’s been a hell of a journey but I’m supported by an incredibly talented team of people.”

He said the reduced financial stress had delivered “huge benefits”. “We’re paying our supply chain promptly. That creates a virtuous circle of loyalty and best pricing.”

The firm’s head office is in Durham, and the North East region is attracting more investment, particularly in projects that boost connectivity around Newcastle. A key figure in this is Tees Valley mayor Lord Ben Houchen, who has “been very active”, said Radcliffe. “There’s a huge number of projects that will require infrastructure.”

Radcliffe is proud of the firm’s emphasis on employing and buying locally. “We play hard on that local angle,” he said. “It’s quite an important factor.”

Radcliffe wants to see the industry’s image change to help solve the skills crisis. “It’s still got the image of muck, machines and bricks on site. You can sit and moan or you can do something about it.”

Esh is working with further education colleges in Yorkshire and the North East to get the right skills – including in digital transformation, data and AI. It is also working with academies across the region on a skills initiative that includes mock interviews held at Newcastle’s Vertu Motors Arena.

The firm is also running an education programme in primary schools aimed at changing perceptions of the industry in the early years. “We’re driving very hard to shift the gender balance. At that age, gender doesn’t matter – that’s very powerful,” Radcliffe said.

The basis of the group’s success was a rationalisation programme, started in 2019, that reduced 26 business units to five complementary activities. The strategy and timing meant the firm was ready for the post-Covid inflation that impacted the sector. Radcliffe said: “[In 2017] I took over a business that was far too diverse. There had been a very aggressive spurt of buys and startups. It was on the brink of being broken.”

Esh now focuses on utilities – “recession-proof” – plus civil engineering, retrofit, social housing and private housing.

The logic for this was simple, said Radcliffe. “You need to understand each segment [of the sector] over the long run.” Overexposure in multiple parts of the industry meant only one thing: “Growth when they’re in boom but misery when they’re in bust.”

The strategy has borne fruit, and Radcliffe said an order book of £1.6bn “gives rise to real confidence for the future”.