The North and M&E | Q&A with Rob Doherty
11 and 12 Wellington Place in Leeds, 4 Angel Square in Manchester, Trinity Road in Halifax – SES Engineering has been behind some of the greenest office buildings in the North.
SES’s focus in on making buildings perform better – operationally and sustainably. This is achieved through a mix of early design collaboration and the company’s expertise in M&E, offsite manufacturing, digital engineering, and digital buildings. Decidedly busy, the company and its 890 employees are hard at work on 45 sites. In 2024, SES reported a turnover of £464m.
That number will be growing if Rob Doherty, SES managing director for the North, has anything to say about it.
Doherty was appointed Northern managing director in September as part of an SES restructure to three regional divisions.
Place spoke with Doherty about his ambitions for the company in the North, how M&E has changed over time, and where the opportunities lie in the region.
Place: It’s been more than six months since SES restructured. How has that changed the way you work in the North?
Doherty: The restructure has been about making the size of the business work better for our clients and our teams. As our project portfolio expanded across the North and Scotland, it became clear we needed to refine how we operate, reducing our footprint away from the Midlands and increasing the amount of time we could dedicate to customers.
For me, it means I spend far more time out on site, meeting my teams and our customers in person, and less time travelling long distances. That same shift applies across the senior leadership team, which has made a real difference in how responsive we are.
The North is a very diverse patch and the way we work in Manchester differs from Newcastle or Scotland. There’s no single approach that fits every location and the restructure has helped us lean into that.
For example, we’ve been able to give more autonomy to our operations directors. As I know well from my time as an OD, they understand the regional nuances of their areas completely and by giving them clear ownership, allows us to manage both a large geographical area and a significant turnover more effectively.
How have demands for M&E changed over the past 10 years?
Projects have become more complex, both technically and operationally. There is a much greater emphasis on building performance, integration of technology, and long-term asset efficiency.
Sustainability has been the biggest shift. Moving away from carbon-based energy systems towards low-carbon solutions is now a core requirement. Clients are also far more focused on how buildings operate over their full lifecycle and require as much certainty as possible for this.
It’s raised expectations across the board and requires a deeper level of engineering input from the outset, but makes for more interesting, exciting projects for myself and the whole team to deliver.
What opportunities do you see in the North for M&E?
For us, the biggest opportunities are in the many complex and technically challenging projects that are being planned across the North. These schemes play to our strengths in engineering detail and delivery where we have some of the best credentials in the industry.
We are seeing strong levels of investment across sectors such as defence, justice, energy, and large-scale infrastructure, alongside major private sector schemes. There’s also continued momentum in arenas and stadium developments across the North, where we already have a strong track record and remains a target for us moving forward.
For these big schemes, early engagement is a key part of how we work. Being involved at the right stage allows us to add value without compromising quality, and it builds stronger outcomes for clients.
Regardless of the project size, these opportunities mean nothing without a trusted, skilled supply chain, particularly in some areas which tend to be more sparsely populated. We work closely with a consistent group of highly skilled partners who understand the standards we, and our customers, expect, and our networks are already in place – ready to take advantage of the opportunities across the North.
What are your growth plans for SES’s Northern offering?
We’re building on a strong foundation and growing in a considered way.
As demand increases, we’ll continue to invest in our people with training and development to help us grow talent from within. Apprenticeships, for example, will always be central to our training schemes – a significant number of our leaders started out in craft apprenticeships, and I truly believe they are how we get our industry fit for the future.
Efficiency is equally important. As a business, we’re investing in digital tools that improve productivity on site and strengthen project control, alongside expanding our use of offsite manufacturing. Our aim is to deliver a significant proportion of work through our manufacturing facilities on each project, to support quality, certainty, and sustainability.
As well as complex builds, we’re also targeting high-growth sectors like commercial fit out. Clients are increasingly looking at retrofitting across their portfolios as part of their sustainability strategies, particularly in cities like Manchester which are balancing high levels of new schemes while bringing older assets up to spec.
What are two projects that really showcase what SES can do? What makes them significant?
Unfortunately, many of our most exciting projects we’re unable to talk about! However, for me, I’m incredibly proud of our work on the Trinity Road refurbishment for Lloyds Banking Group in Halifax. This saw us work hand-in-hand with their longstanding partner, Wates Smartspace, to deliver a modern, futureproofed and sustainable space which still honoured the original Grade-II listed building.
Another is our work on large-scale industrial and energy schemes such as SEAH Wind. These projects demonstrate our ability to deliver at scale, handling complex engineering challenges in demanding environments.
Alongside those flagship schemes, we continue to deliver a wide range of public sector projects, including schools. These are vital in developing our teams and maintaining a strong pipeline of work, while still requiring a high level of technical capability.
SES is known as an “innovator”. How is the company approaching projects differently?
A key area of innovation for us is offsite manufacturing. As the industry faces ongoing challenges around labour availability and programme pressures, we are increasing the amount of work delivered through our manufacturing facilities, or, developing temporary offsite solutions closer to site. Advancing our market leading position with prefabrication will see us push the boundaries on low carbon offsite products, minimising the amount of supports and transit materials used with minimal nonessential materials retained and embodied in the building structure.
More broadly, innovation at SES is about responding to the challenges our clients face. Whether that is through digital tools, modern methods of construction, or new ways of delivering projects, we are focused on practical solutions that improve the end result for our customers, over the entire lifecycle of a project.
This article was originally created and distributed by Place North.