Stepnell strengthens Bristol leadership as contractor opens new Exeter office
Regional contractor Stepnell has announced a series of leadership changes across its southern business, including a new regional manager for its Bristol office and the opening of a new base in Exeter.
The construction, property, development and energy group said the moves would support its continued growth across the South and help strengthen its regional expertise.
Ian Woodward has been named regional manager for Stepnell’s Bristol office. Since joining the business, he has played a key role in delivering projects across the region and will now take on broader responsibility for overseeing operations.
The appointment comes alongside several other senior changes within Stepnell’s South operations. Matthew James has been promoted to regional director and will lead the company’s Southampton office after a decade with the contractor.
Matthew, who has a background in quantity surveying, has spent the past seven years as preconstruction manager and has been part of the South senior leadership team.
He 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.
Stepnell has also appointed Andrew Charlton as regional preconstruction director. He joins with senior-level experience from Wates, where he spent ten years leading teams on complex, large-scale projects, before becoming 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.
Wayne Stokes has also been promoted to deputy commercial manager. He joined Stepnell in 2019 and has progressed from senior quantity surveyor to managing quantity surveyor. He was previously named as a Construction Manager of the Year finalist by the Chartered Institute of Building.
Rob Speirs, director at Stepnell, said the changes reflected the strength of talent across the company’s southern operations.
He 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.
As part of its southern expansion, Stepnell has now opened its third South office in Exeter, based at Broadwalk House.
The company said the new office would strengthen its presence across the South West and allow it to stay closer to projects across Devon and Cornwall.
Stepnell operates from offices in Liverpool, Nottingham, Rugby, Wantage, Southampton, Bristol and Exeter. The family-owned group has been operating for more than 159 years.
