Morris & Spottiswood appoints specialist food and drink framework manager

Morris & Spottiswood has appointed Katy Higham (pictured above) as framework manager to support its current growth in the food and drink manufacturing sector.

Katy’s key appointment supports a client-focussed delivery strategy, and she will act as a consistent point of contact for clients, providing expert guidance, coordination, and efficient service.

Offering a range of solutions, from assisting clients in establishing project requirements to full turnkey delivery of new build and retrofit projects, she will focus on early engagement to minimise disruption and unnecessary complications, and identify efficiencies by supporting both design and project management.

Katy will also support Morris & Spottiswood’s larger production and manufacturing (P&M) team as it springboards from recent contract wins to continue growth across the food and drink sector.

Based in Warrington, Katy brings a decade of food and drink and pharmaceuticals experience to the team. She has worked as a project engineer, project manager, and design manager for leading manufacturers, both through in-house roles and as a consultant.

Morris & Spottiswood has provided P&M services to clients for many years and specialises in working in live environments building, reconfiguring, and upgrading production facilities and offices. The team manages projects while ensuring minimal disruption to ongoing processes and maintaining the most robust hygiene and health and safety practices during heavy works.

A leading soft drinks manufacturer, one of Morris & Spottiswood’s key long-term customers, recently appointed the business to a new contract in Ireland, its first project outside of the UK. This complements a series of blue-chip food and drink appointments over the last six months as Morris & Spottiswood cements itself as a key provider in the sector.

Spencer Lee, Director of Production & Manufacturing at Morris & Spottiswood, said: “We have been steadily growing our P&M business over the last few years and are currently focusing on opportunities in food and drink, building our team and expertise to expand this offering and meet market demand.

In addition to continuously upskilling our team, we are also excited to bring in Katy, who has years of experience in the sector and invaluable client-side understanding. As we also branch out to Ireland for the first time, Katy’s pharmaceuticals expertise will be an asset for further growth in that region.”

Katy added: “I’m excited to join Morris & Spottiswood during this key period of growth. With extensive experience in the food and drink and pharmaceuticals sectors, I have a thorough understanding of the complexities of working in live environments.

And with in-house experience, I also understand the requirements of our clients and the efficiency, cost-effectiveness, sustainability, and certainty they expect from us. I’m looking forward to working with old and new clients alike to provide early engagement and facilitate an efficient programme with my operational understanding.”

Founded in Glasgow in 1925, Morris & Spottiswood operates across the UK in fit-out, M&E, and housing, with offices in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Livingston, Warrington, and Leeds.
Officer Andrew FraserLeading specialist property development lender, Assetz Capital, has reappointed Geoff O’Brien as Relationship Director, based in Scotland. The lender has already provided £138 million of property lending in the region.

O’Brien previously worked at Assetz Capital in 2021, also as a Relationship Director. He rejoins the lender from Together, and brings over 20 years’ experience of business development and specialist lending support.

As Assetz Capital looks to reach over £200 million in property lending in Scotland over the coming years, O’Brien will head up the lenders growth strategy to continue supporting Scottish SME housebuilders and drive property development in the region.

Geoff O’Brien, Relationship Director at Assetz Capital, said: “There’s a huge opportunity to fill the gap in the Scottish market with a diverse range of development and commercial mortgage products.

Housebuilding continues to be a priority across the region, and we recognise the importance of funding SME developers to meet this demand and drive growth. I look forward to settling back into the role with old and new colleagues, and to attending a series of broker engagement events coming shortly.”

Andrew Fraser, Chief Commercial Officer at Assetz Capital, said: “Scotland continues to be a good market for our traditional housebuilder and PBSA developer customers. We have funded over £138 million of lending, including 565 houses in the region, and now wish to push towards that £200 million milestone.

Our focus remains on providing SME developers access to affordable and flexible development funding up to 70% Loan to Value.”