McArdle takes the reins at Gleeds

At the start of 2025, Brian McArdle will be leaving his role as regional managing director for the North at the global property and construction consultancy behind as his remit goes national.

McArdle has been named Gleeds’ next UK managing director. He takes on the role from Anthony Cork, who is leaving for another opportunity.

McArdle has worked at Gleeds for 17 years, having joined as a senior project manager in 2007. He has held the regional managing director for the North title since 2022. His resume also includes roles at Datalog Technology, Hyder Consulting, Orange, and JYM Partnership.

As UK managing director, McArdle will sit on the operations board for the company, which is headed up by chief operating officer Salar Farzad.

Farzad praised McArdle’s promotion.

“We are fortunate in having deep bench strength in our UK leadership,” he said. “Brian’s track record with Gleeds over the last 17 years has been excellent.

“His deep knowledge of our clients and markets across the UK and his considerable success in driving sustainable growth in our business, most recently as head of the North region, made him an easy choice to step into the UK MD role.”

For his part, McArdle said he was “thrilled” by his new role.

“My vision is to drive the business forward and establish it as the pre-eminent partner organisation for our clients and collaborators in the industry,” he said.

“Together, I believe we can set new standards, build lasting partnerships, and continue to make a meaningful impact on the clients we serve.”

McArdle, who lives in Liverpool, will be spending time in all of the firm’s 19 offices, including its bases I Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle upon Tyne, Teesside, Warrington, Barrow-in-Furness, and its global headquarters in London.

The news of McArdle’s appointment came around the same time that Gleeds announced another big change – the shift from a general partnership model to a limited liability partnership. The move is meant to help the 138-year-old company streamline its processes.

Farzad elaborated on the reason for the change.

“Becoming an LLP is the latest positive step forward, delivering clear benefits in terms of greater transparency and simplified accounting,” he said.

“In tandem with updating our governance arrangements and investing in a new global HQ, we are developing a platform from which we can continue to thrive and grow as an independent business in a rapidly evolving landscape.”

Gleeds currently employs around 400 staff in the North. Gleeds’ staff boast expertise in commercial real estate, data centres, energy, healthcare, infrastructure, regeneration, life sciences, and more. Services on offer include building surveying, development management, project management, quantity surveying, whole-life costing, data analytics, digital twins, and decarbonisation.