I began my career in architecture working for a local private practice, based in Lancaster. 

After several years, I relocated to Scotland to continue my architectural career taking up an appointment with Irvine Development Corporation on the development to build a new town, to accommodate the overspill from Glasgow.  I was assigned to the town centre group working on commercial projects.  

The construction and design experience I gained as a young man working in private practice and the Corporation was invaluable to further my career.

The next stage of my career took me back over the border to Preston, in Lancashire working for a specialist nationwide construction company employed in technical sales.

Using my architectural knowledge I soon opened up opportunities in the market to offer a complete design and build package in the commercial interior industry.

I was given the opportunity to head up a subsidiary company taking on the position of Director and taking the company to a new level, developing relationships with blue chip clients throughout the UK, and travelling on Concorde which was one of the highlights of a young executive.

Now was the time after 10 years to move on with a wealth of knowledge and experience to develop the next chapter in my life: Contact One.

Why the name ‘Contact One’? This was simple, based on – one contact, in some respects, an early version of facility management, offering a one stop solution from small, medium and eventually larger projects, assisting the end user throughout the process.

The concept was correct; it was now the challenge of setting up a company in 1990, with limited funds and knowledge of how to run a company.  I was now a one-man band, I was no longer part of a corporation and a million miles away from sipping champagne and being served canapes on Concorde.

The challenge of starting up a new company with limited knowledge and certainly funds soon became apparent that you needed professional support, essentially a good accountant who would guide and support you through the mechanics of business.

Your closest allies would become the accountant, the tax man, and the bailiff and certainly not the banks, with the exception of a couple of managers who understood entrepreneurialism.

Once the company structure had a foundation, Contact One was now ready to embark on its journey and despite the peaks and troughs and there were many, it could survive with hard work and determination to be a success.