St. Modwen 30 Years : A Generation of Regeneration 1 | Page 82

ST. MODWEN | A GENERATION OF REGENERATION | REFLECTIONS FROM BILL OLIVER

“

One of my proudest
moments came
in February 2015,
when the market
valued St.Modwen
at £1 billion.

”

Bill is a hands-on boss. In the office by 8.00am
and never away before 5.30pm. He holds monthly
review meetings at each regional office and on every
project. Each surveyor is grilled lightly, or, no doubt,
otherwise. “It’s an incredible headache for my PA,
Marie Aldridge, to organise. But a very worthwhile
exercise,” he says.
Today the company has 375 employees, with an
average length of service of just under five years.
Senior planning surveyor Mike Timmins from the
Midlands office is the longest serving employee,
having started in the summer of 1989. Bravest
employee is bearded Regional Director, Mike Herbert
who joined in 1990 and runs the The Trentham Estate.

Ground-breaking ceremony at Glan Llyn, a £1bn new community in South Wales

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“One of the things Sir Stanley Clarke could not stand
was beards”, says Bill, referring to the founder of the
business who died in 2004 aged 71”. He threatened
to sack Mike,” says Bill. “It says much for the business
that he is still here.” Sir Stanley’s obituaries described
him as a “man of prodigious drive” and his legacy
plainly colours St. Modwen.

What made Sir Stanley Clarke tick is the stuff of
internal legend. “He wasn’t keen on Geordies either”
is all Bill will say. What makes Bill tick? One clue:
his favourite writer is Patrick O’Brian, author of the
Aubrey-Maturin series. Jack Aubrey is a naval captain,
Stephen Maturin, a doctor. The series opens with the
Master and Commander book. No prizes which role
Bill sees himself playing.
To end, another clue - or red herring. Bill’s favourite
films are The Shawshank Redemption and Paul.
The first is about an immensely patient prisoner with
financial expertise, who escapes after 19 years. The
second is a comedy about an alien escaping a US
air base after many years. Probably best not read too
much into these choices.

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