Mechanical engineering specialist Cosgrove & Drew has announced the appointment of acclaimed business leader Bob Holt OBE as its new Chairman, to help drive forward the company’s ambitious growth and expansion plans.
Bob Holt, former Director of Mears Group PLC and extensive investor, also joins the Bristol-based firm as a major shareholder. He brings with him a wealth of experience as the company aim to double in size over the next two years, with an eye firmly on long-term exponential growth.
Founded by former tradesmen Zac Cosgrove and Luke Drew in 2014, Cosgrove & Drew has enjoyed rapid growth, starting from a two-man band without funding to an award-winning £5m business with over 80 engineers including valued sub-contractors. It provides a wide range of mechanical services, from domestic to large-scale commercial and industrial heating and plumbing installations, servicing sectors such as Education, Leisure, Government Authority , Health Care, Housing Association and more.
With a career spanning more than five decades, Holt has taken senior positions within some of this UK’s most successful companies. He is perhaps most widely known for his pivotal role in the rise of Mears Group PLC. He built the then little-known Gloucestershire contractor up from a £12m business with 83 staff, through floatation on the stock market in 1996, to a £1bn group with over 12,000 staff, operating in the care and housing maintenance sectors.
He is also former Chairman of maintenance contractor Sureserve Group PLC, (formerly known as Lakehouse). Here he further demonstrated his leadership success by completing its major turnaround to deliver a very strong financial performance, overseeing a 125% recovery in Sureserve’s share price. At the time of his recruitment in 2016, the business had a bank debt of £50m.
In that same year, Holt was awarded an OBE for devoting significant amounts of energy and time to charity. In 2008, he set up The Footprints Foundation to help people in need both at home and overseas, including supporting six orphanages in South Africa.
Commenting on his new role, Holt said:
“This is a fantastic opportunity to support Luke and Zac in driving the company forward and to focus on expansion. Prior to the pandemic, the business built significant reserves. Post-pandemic, it is well prepared for the huge growth and development potential in the evolving energy transition market."
He continued:
“With a well-trained and committed work force, the opportunity is vast, and I’m looking to help double the business over the next two years and then double again.”
Luke Drew, Managing Director commented:
“Bob’s illustrious track record in leading businesses to high levels of success with his energetic, inspired approach speaks for itself. We couldn’t be more excited in harnessing his breadth of commercial expertise and acumen to take Cosgrove & Drew to the next chapter.”