Building Beyond Profit

In 1852, a bricklayer named John Willmott took on his first contract for the sum of £1. Nearly 175 years and six generations later, his belief still runs through everything we do: that great construction is about far more than putting up buildings, it creates lasting value for the people and places it touches. Today, led by Chief Executive Officer Graham Dundas and Executive Chairman Rick Willmott, John’s direct descendant, we are a proud, privately owned, construction and interiors group.

Private ownership is the reason we can put purpose first. Free from the pressure of short-term shareholder returns, we take the long view, investing in our people, deepening our relationships with customers and supply chain partners, and choosing work that leaves the deepest mark for the generations who follow us.

Our people are the point

We have always believed that when our people thrive, everything else follows: better buildings, stronger relationships, healthier communities. That is why we are determined to build diverse, inclusive teams where everyone can do the best work of their lives, and why we are committed to reaching gender parity across our management by 2030. Look after the people, and the rest takes care of itself.

A catalyst for good

A company of our size and reach carries a responsibility that goes well beyond what we build. Through the Peter Willmott Foundation, we direct our people’s time, energy and generosity towards the causes that matter most in our communities, from tackling food poverty and building life skills to supporting vulnerable people and strengthening local wellbeing. It continues a tradition of community commitment that has defined six generations of our family business.

As Executive Chairman Rick Willmott explains:

“I believe passionately our company has a purpose beyond profit and, with its scale, a real opportunity to be a catalyst for positive change wherever we work. This happens not only through what we build and maintain, but through the fantastic efforts of all our people who enhance their local communities.”

That conviction has earned us King’s and Queen’s Awards for Enterprise for both sustainable development and promoting opportunity, recognition not of what we say, but of what our people do, day in and day out.

Leading the Zero Carbon Revolution

We want to hand on a healthier planet than the one we inherited. In 2020 we launched “Now or Never. Our decisive decade”, one of the construction sector’s most ambitious sustainability strategies, with targets independently validated by the Science Based Targets initiative. It commits us to:

• Net zero operational carbon for every new building and major refurbishment by 2030
• Becoming a zero-carbon company in our own operations by 2030, without relying on offsetting
• Net zero carbon across our supply chain by 2040
• 100,000 trees planted to support nature and communities by 2030

These are not promises we have made and filed away. They shape the work we take on, and the way we deliver every project.

A legacy that outlasts us

From the schools where children learn to the homes where families put down roots, from reimagined town centres to the hospitals and leisure centres at the heart of community life, the places we create are built to improve lives long after we have handed over the keys. That is the legacy we care about, and the reason we do what we do.

Every project we undertake reflects one simple belief: that construction should serve society, sustain communities, and safeguard the future we all share.