James Wates to be replaced as chairman of contractor by cousin

Wates chairman Sir James Wates is stepping down this spring after a decade in the role.

Sir James, who turns 63 in April, is being replaced by his cousin Tim Wates, who joined the family-owned business in 1993 and has been deputy chair since last autumn.

Sir James joined the business in 1983 and was appointed to the board 14 years later.

He will formally hand over the chair’s role in May to Tim, who turns 57 the following month.

Sir James said: “The time is now right to pass the baton over to Tim. I look forward to continuing to serve on the Board and being actively involved in the business, including representing Wates in external forums.”

Before joining the business, Tim Wates started out at investment banker Cazenove.

Wates, which is still to appoint a new chief executive following the departure of David Allan last summer, and who has since taken on the finance director’s position at Mace, posted an improved set of figures in its last set of results with turnover jumping 12% in 2021 to £1.63bn on pre-tax profit up to £35.9m from just £839,000 in 2020 when it was forced to cut 300 jobs.