Mersey firm that went from one van to a multi-million pound turnover – and Denis has seen it all
Denis Mason was the first employee M&Y Construction and Maintenance 37 years ago when it had just one van – now it is part of the Regenda Group and employs 250 people
Merseyside business M&Y Construction and Maintenance started off as a small firm specialising in extensions and hard wood windows 37 years ago.
Denis Mason was there then as its first employee and now M&Y is part of the Regenda Group Denis can see just how far the company has grown.
In the early days he would drive around St Helens in a second hand Bedford with the firm’s founder Graham Yates.
New deal
In the last few weeks M&Y has agreed a £300,000 deal with Mercedes Benz to update its fleet of 23 vehicles.
Denis said: “Graham, who was my next door neighbour but one at the time, offered me a job after I was made redundant.
“The early days were spent driving around from job to job in St Helens and those vans really served us well.
“We also used them to ferry the children to school each morning, so they were pretty multi-functional too.”
Growth period
In 1985, the organisation secured its first social housing contract and has gone from strength to strength since.
M&Y won an £8m contract with the Regenda Group, which has 130,000 homes across the North West, in 2007 to deliver repairs for five years. Regenda then acquired M&Y in 2009.
Denis added: “It is amazing how much this company has grown and developed its offering.
“We have a really good team here, who are very proud of what they do and look to deliver the best results every single time.”
Four depots
M&Y is working towards increasing turnover to £50m by 2021 and employs 250 people across its four depots.
However, this has not come at the expense of the organisation’s values, according to current managing director, Gill Kelly.
She explained: “We have always been a firm with our roots firmly in the local community.
“Some of our staff, like Denis, have been here from the start, and we want to make sure that a family bond is felt across the organisation, from long serving managers to young apprentices.”