INDUSTRY
A
WORDS : SARAH WALKER MAIN PICTURE : TOM BANKS
s a groundworker on the Redcar Leisure and Community Heart , which opened in March 2014 , Nick Leat was earning £ 15 per hour .
But his talent for finding other hardworking labourers as a “ ganger ” has seen him build up a business that now turns over up to £ 6m a year .
Nick started N & T Civils about five years ago when he was working for Middlesbrough-based groundwork company , Hughes Bros Construction , and would contact a few friends whenever they needed more men – what ’ s known as a “ ganger ”.
“ At first , I brought in two lads and I didn ’ t know it at the time , but that was the start of N & T Civils ,” he says .
“ When the boss said , ‘ We need more men ’ I would employ people to work on various sites and gradually built up a group of lads running jobs .
“ Before I knew it , I was in charge of a gang of men and it ’ s gone from that to building up to being a contractor on a variety of jobs , with our own plant and machinery .
“ We have a fleet of around 26 machines now – it ’ s gone crazy .”
After providing the groundworks for new housing estates across the North- East , as well as civils work on the likes of Darlington Fire Station for Tolent , Nick and his team are celebrating their biggest contract win to date – a £ 3.6m project to provide the roads and sewers on a new estate of 93 houses in Sowerby , Thirsk .
The contract , for a company called Engie , is significantly larger than the firm ’ s previous projects from the last three or four years , which still averaged a healthy £ 900,000 to £ 1m . “ It is a big win for us ,” Nick says . “ It ’ s great to see where we ’ ve come from . Some of the workers have been with me from the start .
“ I ’ ve been a labourer , groundworker and now I ’ m a business owner . It ’ s been a good journey .”
Three years ago , Nick took his team to work for Gleeson on what was their first big contract .
“ We upped our game at that point ,”
From £ 15 an hour to £ 6m a year – the journey of a growing construction firm
he said . “ It was a new housing site and we were taken on as a groundwork company , doing the foundations , drainage systems , footpaths , gardens – all the landscaping , floors and then roads and sewers .
“ We complete all the houses up to floor level and then we hand the site back to the main contractor , which builds the houses on it .
“ There were about 45 of us then , working for Hughes Bros and Gleeson .”
With a growing company , Nick , who now has offices in Castle Eden , had to employ an office manager .
“ I had been doing everything ,” he said . “ I had an accountant but with the office manager on board , we started doing a lot of our own administration . “ Then people started coming to us . We were getting noticed and it all started with that one job .”
From there , the company progressed from supplying not just labour , but also plant and materials , and has gone on to work for big names such as Surgo and Esh Group .
“ We ’ ve just completed all the groundworks on Darlington Fire Station for Tolent and we ’ ve also been working with Esh Group in Middlesbrough ,” said Nick .
“ We are doing the Boho site and it looks quite futuristic down there . N & T Groundwork Services completed the landscaping and we are also working for Surgo in the Boho zone .
“ We are doing four big jobs within 250 metres of each other , for three different companies .”
Nick says the company was fortunate during the pandemic to be building some medical centres in Northallerton and Middlesbrough .
These were classed as essential jobs , which could carry on when others downed tools .
Although Nick did have to furlough some staff , it meant they were able to keep jobs open and many have now returned to work .
Nick is also keen to take on young people and give a chance to others who are keen but don ’ t necessarily have the right experience .
Proactive Training , which offers apprenticeships across the construction sector , recently contacted Nick to ask if he would be able to give four youngsters some valuable work experience .
As a result , the company has given a 17-year-old and an 18-year-old paid entry-level jobs .
Nick said : “ They all showed they were keen to work and it ’ s hard to find lads like that , so because of their hard work and attitude , we have been able to give them a little bit of pay between them .
“ They were over the moon . They were good lads , so I thought , to build their confidence , give them a little bit of money so they see what they can get if they do a day ’ s work .”
Nick also recently took on an estimator seeking to branch out into construction who didn ’ t have experience in the sector .
She is now a real asset as she works side by side with the quantity surveyor , helping to pitch at the right price for jobs .
Nick prides himself on the fact that wherever his company has worked , it has always managed to secure repeat business .
“ With every company we have worked for , one job has always led to another , so we are doing something right ,” he said .
“ We ’ ve gone from doing housing to doing civil project work , including some deep drainage and technical floor plans .
“ We are available to a wide range of companies for civils work and housing – we are not just centred on housing alone .”
N & T Civils is proud of its employees who continuously demonstrate commitment and dedication to driving the business forward . Family is a fundamental part of the business , with Nick ’ s son Tom being the “ T ” in N & T , Bailey managing the fleet of machines and vans , and Nicole managing the day to day running of the office .
Five years into the company ’ s life , Nick has demonstrated a proven track record with a number of successful contracts behind him .
The voice of business in the Tees region | 51