Wates has recruited Roger Forsdyke, the chief operating officer of Willmott Dixon’s interiors arm, to lead UK operations at its construction division as the company seeks to compete for larger and more complex contracts.
Experienced operations leader brought in to deliver scale
Forsdyke is due to start at Wates at the beginning of next month after more than 25 years with Willmott Dixon, including three and a half years running its fit-out business. He will replace George Mosey, who in spring was promoted to managing director of Wates’s London construction business after joining the group last March.
Wates said the appointment is part of a wider strategy to accelerate sustainable growth across public and private sectors, strengthen national operational leadership and improve capability to win and deliver higher-value work. The construction arm remains the largest contributor to the group’s income, a point Wates highlighted when underlining the rationale for bolstering its senior team.
What the hire means for projects, jobs and margins
The move signals a clear intent: Wates wants to position itself for more demanding, higher-margin projects. That ambition has practical consequences for the workforce and supply chain. Delivering larger, more complex schemes typically requires deeper project management capability, increased coordination with subcontractors and consultants, and stronger systems to control costs and timelines.
Wates has recently made other senior appointments as well, including bringing in the former operations director of Mace Construct’s London business as its new commercial director in London. Taken together, the hires point to a sustained management push to raise the group’s national operating capacity.
“Roger brings deep expertise in building high-performing, accountable teams and delivering operational excellence at scale. His commitment to customer success, people development and continuous improvement align perfectly with our culture and our ambition to be the partner of choice for customers.”
The company framed the recruitment drive as an investment in expertise and leadership intended to deliver ‘exceptional outcomes’. For employees and subcontractors, that could mean more stringent performance expectations but also the possibility of larger programmes of work if Wates successfully wins bigger contracts.
- Leadership capacity: adds experienced operational management to national operations.
- Strategic push: explicit focus on securing higher-value and more complex projects.
- Market signal: continued recruitment at senior level suggests Wates aims to expand market share in both public and private sectors.
Financial context
Construction remains the dominant part of the Wates group’s business. Last year, Wates Construction accounted for £1.2bn of group turnover, within a total group income of £2.5bn. That split underscores why the group is prioritising operational leadership in the construction arm as it seeks growth.
| Wates (latest reported year) | Turnover |
|---|---|
| Construction | £1.2bn |
| Group-wide income | £2.5bn |
For contractors, moving up the value chain can lift margins if projects are executed successfully, but it also increases exposure to planning, delivery and financial risk. Clients commissioning complex schemes expect robust governance and experienced leadership; hiring a senior operator from a rival is a conventional way to buy that capability.
Wates’s public statements stress investment in people and systems as central to this pivot. Whether that investment translates into a sustained run of wins for larger projects will be the key test for the group and for Forsdyke’s new role. The company’s recent pattern of senior hires — including a commercial director for London last month — suggests Wates is building a leadership team to match its financial scale and strategic ambitions.
For the construction market overall, the appointment is another sign that established firms are reorganising to capture higher-value work, a trend that will shape subcontracting opportunities and the types of roles that become available across the sector.
