Innovex, a leading specialist in the fit-out, refurbishment and maintenance of public and private sector buildings, has marked the next stage of its national growth with the official opening of its new headquarters in Selby.
Local MP Keir Mather joined Innovex Directors Craig Looker, Paul Lawrence and Andy Shuttler, alongside members of the wider Innovex team, to officially open the new offices at Abbey Court, Selby Business Park.
The event celebrated not only the continued expansion of a Yorkshire business now delivering projects across the UK, but also the people who have made that growth possible – from the teams working at Innovex headquarters to the project teams, site managers, trades and operatives delivering for clients every day across the country.
The purpose-built headquarters represents a significant milestone for Innovex and has been designed to provide the space, facilities and working environment required to support the company’s growing team, expanding client base and ambitious plans for the future.
Guests at the launch heard from Keir Mather before enjoying an electric performance from international DJs Phats & Small, followed by a tour of Innovex’s new high-performance working environment.
At the heart of Innovex is a simple principle – the success of the business is ultimately determined by the people who deliver for its clients.
The company is led by Directors Craig Looker, Paul Lawrence and Andy Shuttler, who together oversee its financial, commercial, operational and business development strategy.
However, the Directors are clear that Innovex’s continued growth is the collective achievement of a much wider team.
Behind every completed project sits a network of people working together – from estimating, commercial, finance, administration and project coordination at headquarters, through to project managers, site managers, supervisors, skilled trades and operatives working on sites throughout the UK.
It is the connection between those office and site-based teams that the Directors believe has become one of Innovex’s greatest strengths.
Craig Looker said:“A successful business needs strong foundations, but ultimately those foundations are its people.
“The investment we are making in Innovex is about creating a sustainable business that gives our people the resources, systems and support they need to perform at their best.
“Our new headquarters is part of that commitment. It gives us a platform for future growth, but more importantly it gives our team an environment that reflects the standards we collectively want Innovex to represent.”
For Paul Lawrence, the opening of the headquarters represents much more than simply moving into a new office.
“When people see a completed Innovex project, they see the finished building. What they don’t necessarily see are all the people behind it.
“They don’t see the estimator working through the detail before the project starts, the commercial and finance teams keeping everything on track, the project team coordinating hundreds of moving parts or the site manager and operatives solving problems on the ground to make sure we deliver what we promised.
“Those are the people responsible for our biggest delivery successes. Craig, Andy and I can set the direction of the business, but it is our wider team that turns those ambitions into reality.”
Innovex works with organisations across a diverse range of sectors, creating, refurbishing and maintaining spaces throughout the UK.
Its experience includes projects within early years and education, criminal justice and the public sector, retail, commercial environments, sports and leisure, and hospitality.
The business has developed particular expertise in delivering projects within highly regulated, sensitive and occupied environments, where careful planning, compliance, communication and the quality of the people working on site are critical.
That means the professionalism of Innovex’s site teams is every bit as important as the work taking place behind the scenes at headquarters.
Andy Shuttler added: “Our site teams and operatives are the people representing Innovex in front of our clients every day. Their professionalism, attitude and ability to deliver under pressure have been fundamental to the reputation we have built.
“At the same time, those teams need the support of the people behind them in the office. One doesn’t succeed without the other.
“Some of our proudest achievements have come from watching those different parts of the business pull together when faced with a challenging programme or difficult project and collectively find a way to deliver.”
That collaborative approach has helped Innovex build long-term relationships with organisations responsible for complex property portfolios across the UK.
A significant proportion of the company’s continued growth has been generated through repeat business and client recommendations – something the Directors regard as one of the clearest measures of the performance of the wider Innovex team.
The company now provides clients with a broad range of services including fit-out, refurbishment, nationwide rollout programmes, planned and reactive maintenance, and small works, allowing organisations to work with Innovex across individual projects as well as wider property estates.
As Innovex continues to expand, Craig, Paul and Andy say one of their greatest responsibilities is ensuring that the culture responsible for the company’s success is not diluted by growth.
For the Directors, that means continuing to recognise the contribution of everyone within the business – irrespective of whether they are working from the new headquarters or hundreds of miles away on an Innovex site.
The Directors said jointly:“There are three Directors leading Innovex, but there is one team delivering it.
“Our office team, project teams, site managers, trades and operatives all have different responsibilities, but every one of those roles contributes to the same outcome.
“The reputation Innovex has today has been earned project by project by the people representing our name. Every successful handover, every client who chooses to work with us again and every recommendation we receive ultimately comes back to the standard of work and service delivered by our people.
“As Directors, we are incredibly proud of that.”
The Directors also recognise the contribution made by Innovex’s wider network of subcontractors, specialist trades, consultants and supply-chain partners.
On major projects, those relationships allow Innovex to bring together teams with different disciplines and expertise while maintaining a consistent approach to quality, safety and client service.
Craig Looker, Paul Lawrence and Andy Shuttler added: “We never want Innovex to become a business where success is measured purely by turnover, the number of projects we deliver or the number of locations we operate from.
“We want to build a company where good people want to work, where our supply-chain partners want to work alongside us and where clients trust the Innovex name because of the people standing behind it.
“Growth is important, but sustaining the culture, standards and team that created that growth is even more important.”
That philosophy has influenced the design of the new Selby headquarters, which has been created not simply as an office but as a working showcase of the standards, creativity and attention to detail Innovex brings to its clients’ projects.
The investment also demonstrates the company’s commitment to Selby and Yorkshire, even as its geographical reach continues to expand.
Later this year, Innovex is planning another significant step in its national growth strategy with the proposed opening of its second UK office north of the border, further strengthening its ability to support customers throughout the country. Further details are expected to be announced in the coming months.
For Innovex, however, expansion will continue to be measured by more than geography or turnover.
The ambition shared by Craig, Paul, Andy and the wider Innovex team is to establish the company as one of the UK’s most trusted specialist partners for organisations looking to create, improve and maintain their property estates.
The three Directors concluded:“This headquarters is a milestone for Innovex, but it belongs to everyone who has contributed to getting the business here.
“To our team in the office, our project and site teams, our operatives, our subcontractors and supply-chain partners – thank you.
“Without their commitment, knowledge and determination, Innovex simply would not be the business it is today.
“Our responsibility now is to protect what makes this team successful, continue investing in our people and create opportunities for them as the business grows.
“We are proud of what we have achieved together, but we are even more excited about what this team can achieve next.”
Highly accredited and with a strong record of delivering projects in demanding environments, Innovex enters its next phase with an expanding national footprint, a growing team and a clear strategy for continued development.
The new headquarters may carry the Innovex name above the door, but the company’s leadership is clear that its greatest asset remains the people – in the office and out on site – whose work has built the reputation behind that name.
