Group CEO, Liam Cummins , talks to Building Magazine

The CEO of Permasteelisa Group, Liam Cummins, says the global façade specialist must continue to target the ‘super opportunity’ being offered by London’s ongoing redevelopment and rapidly changing skyline.

With a look back on his earlier career – working with the likes of Mowlem, Laing O’Rourke and Kier – the article highlights the progress Liam has made since taking on the role of CEO at the start of 2023.

Of his move to Permasteelisa, he commented: “I felt I was ready to transition into a chief executive role. It’s different to having a division. You have less of an impact as an expert practitioner but you have a massive impact on picking the right people and starting to build teams.”

Highlighting how he was quick to re-set the company’s focus onto key markets – he explained how London remains ahead of most of its peers because of the “level of investment, the appetite to build and the visibility of pipeline”.

“London is our biggest single market,” he comments. “We have increased our capacity in London. I want the business to do great things in London – it is a super opportunity for us and I want the business to be operationally strong here.

“The biggest single cluster of projects in the world is in London. We need to be inside the ecosystem of London. Getting London performing well is very important to me. It’s fundamental that we have a strong capability here.

“London is seen [by investors] as a good long-term option. We see a lot of opportunities.”

Liam explained that having already played a significant role in the stunning redevelopment of England’s capital – past projects include Wembley stadium, the Shard, Heron tower, Spurs stadium and the National Gallery – there was still much more to come, with 70% of the Group’s European business conducted there and 23 of its 75 on-going schemes around the world situated in the city.

There was, however, a word of caution as he cast an eye over the sheer scale and number of new projects that continue to be announced. Who is going to build them as the list of tier 1 contractors able – or more pertinently willing – to do the kind of high-risk jobs for the same old margins is getting smaller.

“There’s going to be more work than capacity,” he says. “Something will have to change in the [contracting] model and risk appetite. I’ve had conversations with investors questioning what the next model is for the next wave of work.

“The sector is stressed and margins are unsustainable at 2% to 3%. Everybody knows that. And it’s not just margins – we’ve seen so many insolvencies in the sector.

“How do we get the best out of the sector? To do that, there will have to be a shift because there will be more work than capacity and therefore there will have to be a conversation about what the delivery model will look like.”

For the full article, in which he also reveals his love for all things Nottingham Forest, click HERE.