Neil Sherreard, managing director of Bristol construction firm Cowlin, today leaves the company he’s spent almost 25 years with to set up a new venture.
Neil joined Cowlin in 1987 and worked his way through the ranks, becoming a shareholder in 1996 and managing director in 2000.
During his time as managing director, turnover has increased more than 12-fold from £17m turnover to more than £200m. He also managed Cowlin’s sale to Balfour Beatty, the UK’s largest construction company, in 2007 just prior to the credit crunch.
Neil stayed at Cowlin after the sale as managing director and was also appointed as a director of Balfour Beatty Scottish and Southern division.
Neil’s new ventures include setting up a property development company and joining Bristol-based specialist construction, property and finance PR firm bClear Communications as a part-time director.
He is also in discussions with a number of construction-related companies about consultancy and non-executive director roles.
Neil said: “After almost 25 years at Cowlin it was time to move on and explore new opportunities. It has been four years since we completed the sale to Balfour Beatty, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time there but I’m looking forward to new challenges using my expertise to assist other companies achieve similar levels of success to those at Cowlin.”
