SES brings in MJ Lonsdale founder to non-executive role as firm eyes more work in London

Michael J Lonsdale founder Michael Hoodless is joining SES as a non-executive director.

Hoodless set up the London M&E specialist in 1986 but the £250m Berkshire-based firm went into administration two years ago.

SES, which is part of Wates, is expected to see its turnover top £500m this year and is targeting the London commercial market under a growth push which also includes looking at branching out into other sectors such as data centres and nuclear and defence work.

Around £80m of its business is in the capital where one of its major ongoing schemes is an office upgrade for Mace at 100 New Bridge Street near Blackfriars station.

But the firm is looking at eventually growing workloads in London to more than £200m which is likely to see it set up a standalone office in the city and move out of Wates’ office near Euston station.

MJ Lonsdale worked on several high-profile schemes including 22 Bishopsgate and the Bloomberg building.

Hoodless is expected to help beef up the firm’s business in the capital and take on the city’s big players such as Phoenix and T Clarke.

Rob Clifford, executive managing director of SES, said: “Michael’s experience and strategic insight will be invaluable as we continue to grow and strengthen our position in the market.

“He has built and led one of our industry’s most influential MEP companies and his perspective will help us sharpen our focus on operational excellence and long-term value creation.”

In its last set of results, SES posted a 55% rise in turnover to £464m with pre-tax profit jumping 60% to £9.3m.