Stepnell poised for southern expansion with Exeter office opening, senior promotions and appointment

REGIONAL contractor Stepnell has announced a series of senior promotions, a key appointment and the opening of its Exeter office, supporting its continued growth and focus on strengthening regional expertise across its South operations.

Matthew James has been promoted to regional director and will lead Stepnell's Southampton office after a decade at the contractor. With a background in quantity surveying, Matthew has most recently served as preconstruction manager for the past seven years as part of the South senior leadership team, playing a key role in the company’s expansion and geographical operations.

Matthew said: “Heading up the Southampton office is a real opportunity to accelerate the growth we’ve been building towards. We have clear ambitions to expand our presence further into the South West and South East beyond our existing bases. We’ll also continue to develop our existing key sectors including residential, education, healthcare,industrial and commercial sectors while exploring wider opportunities to become even more competitive in the region’s construction landscape.”

To further strengthen its preconstruction capability, Stepnell has appointed Andrew Charlton as regional preconstruction director, bringing extensive senior-level experience with ten years at Wates leading teams on complex, large-scale projects. He later became national preconstruction director at Morgan Sindall’s property services division.

Andrew said: “Joining Stepnell is a great opportunity to have a direct regional influence and help shape the business's trajectory. The company already has a strong pipeline of activity, bolstered by its solid framework positions and local authority relationships. It was this combination of stability and clear ambition for future growth that attracted me to the role.”

Ian Woodward assumes the position of regional manager for the Bristol office. Since joining Stepnell, he has played a key role in delivering projects across the region and will now take on broader responsibility for overseeing operations. Additionally, Wayne Stokes has been promoted to deputy commercial manager. Since joining the business in 2019, he has progressed from senior quantity surveyor to managing quantity surveyor and was previously recognised as a Construction Manager of the Year finalist by the Chartered Institute of Building.

Rob Speirs, director at Stepnell, said: “We have an incredible breadth of talent across our southern business operations. Matthew has been instrumental in supporting our selective approach and will have a significant role to play in achieving our growth ambitions across the South. The additional promotions for Ian and Wayne are thoroughly deserved after several years of outstanding contribution.

“Andrew brings a formidable track record in preconstruction performance that will showcase the tremendous value and quality we can deliver through the tendering and preconstruction progress.”

A key milestone in Stepnell’s southern expansion is the opening of its third South office in Exeter, strengthening its presence across the South West.

Rob added: “We’ve driven successful growth in this area and it’s given us the momentum to expand our reach. From our recent work with South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust SWASFT to our ongoing projects at various hospitals across Taunton, Yeovil, Weston and Bristol, we’re on the ground delivering high-impact projects for the South West.

“Our work has taken us as far as the Isles of Scilly and this new base at Broadwalk House will help us stay even closer to our projects and continue building strong links with our local supply chain across Devon and Cornwall.

“Through the Exeter office and these strategic regional leadership changes, we have a clear long-term vision for how we can expand across the South over the next five years.”

For more information on Stepnell and its services, visit https://www.stepnell.co.uk/.