A Highland housebuilder has announced it has followed up the success of delivering its 1,000th affordable home by taking new orders worth more than £20 million.
Inverness-based Compass Building & Construction Services reached the milestone with the completion of the latest phase of development at Teandallon in Evanton for Highland Council.
The firm aims to have 80 more affordable homes underway over the coming months in Invergordon, Broadford, and Lochcarron.
Compass was established in 2009 and completed its first affordable home in Stornoway in 2010/11. Since then, the company has built houses in 32 communities across the Highlands and Islands including Portree, Gairloch, Carrbridge and Dornie.
Compass MD Thom Macleod said reaching the 1,000 milestone was a remarkable achievement, but added that it represents a bigger picture than simply the bricks and mortar. Over the same period, Compass and sister company Orbis have delivered almost 100 apprentice placements.
Thom said, “This has been a key part of our growth strategy as it very much mirrors the route taken by many of our management team during our formative years. This model is in stark contrast to many of the larger visiting tier-one contractors that choose to follow a management contracting model.
“It is our preference to organically develop our own talent, in our own mould, so that we have control of this throughput for future generations rather than simply relying on the efforts of others. This approach has paid dividends as, not only do we have an exemplary directly employed workforce, we have also been recognised routinely for excellence in the training that we provide – even to the point that we were crowned Scotland’s SME construction apprentice employer of the year along the way.”
Thom revealed Compass’s work with communities has a lasting impact.
“It has enabled us to deliver various forms of legacy through employment, apprenticeships or the supporting of local initiatives which are important to the wider community. We particularly favour the third sector through our support for charities and levelling up initiatives.”
