Derek Innes has built Procast Group into a major retrofit contractor, with a turnover of £50m in its last financial year, having started the business with just three employees after leaving North Lanarkshire Council to set up on his own around 12 years ago. He talks to Business HQ Monthly about the growth of the business, and its aims and values.

 

Name: Derek Innes

What is your business called? Procast Group

Where is it based? 4 Alness Street, Hamilton, ML3 6RU

What does it produce/do?

Procast is an award-winning retrofit contractor dedicated to working with its clients to achieve their net-zero targets and assist with bringing its customers out of fuel poverty. At Procast, we believe that not only does good workforce practice improve our business and help deliver value to our customers, it also helps us stay ahead of the competition. We also believe in working towards a sustainable future by acting responsibly as a business with the highest social, environmental and ethical standards.

Passionate and committed though we are when it comes to our professional responsibilities, we also realise the importance of giving back to the communities in which we operate by being active and supportive partners of them. Over the years, we have established an impressive client base developed through partnerships built on trust. This brings considerable repeat business through recommendation, based on positive customer feedback and being recommended due to the verifiable quality of our expertise and workmanship.

To whom does it sell?

Our main clients are local authorities and housing associations across Scotland and beyond. Recently we have been expanding our work south of the Border into England, with notable projects in Cumbria and the north-west. We have also set up a base in Aberdeen and our aim is to continue to expand our reach in the coming years.

What is its turnover?

We achieved a turnover of £50m for 2023/24 with a target of £65m for 2024/25.

How many employees?

We currently employ over 150 people across the group.

Tell us a bit about the history of the business?

The company started some 12 years ago when I left North Lanarkshire Council and decided to go out on my own. We started with just three employees and it’s really grown from there to incorporate lots of different ventures under the Procast Group name. Alongside my family, it’s become the biggest passion in my life.

 

What attracted you to your current role?

I had a passion for creating a company that was built on having quality people that would deliver a first-class job and always fulfil its promises to its clients. I enjoy taking the lead and helping to guide people to achieve their ambitions.

 

What were you doing before?

I was working for North Lanarkshire Council carrying out roofing, rendering and EWI (external wall insulation) installs.

 

What do you least enjoy?

There isn’t anything I really dislike, apart from failing to deliver on our objectives to clients and as a business as a whole.

 

What do you consider to be the main successes of the business?

The business’s success has been built on delivering quality work for our clients, and their tenants, and having the very best people working within the organisation. We all work together to set yearly goals we strive to achieve and we hold each other accountable when doing so.

 

What are your ambitions for the firm?

The ultimate ambition is to become a tier one contractor within the next three years that is recognised as the market leader in retrofit and new-build, not only in Scotland but across the UK as we continue to grow.

 

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What are the challenges facing the sector and market, and what could be done to overcome or address these?

The continual cutthroat tendering process that goes on within the industry is only creating a race to the bottom and not the market we want to be associated with. Proper collaboration with our clients to deliver the very best standard of work that falls within their budget is the only real way to see steady growth and progress within the market.

What single thing would most help?

Clearer leadership from central government, at both a UK and Scottish level, with a more joined-up approach between policy, training and funding is what is needed right now to help develop the construction and housing industries.

 

What is the most valuable lesson you have learned?

It’s a simple one - stay humble.

 

What was your best moment?

The decision made, during Covid, to purchase our large HQ in Hamilton that would be big enough for us to grow into over the next few years. This has been achieved along with creating seven departments that fall under the Procast Group umbrella. The local area is massively important to me and a lot of the staff, with many of us having grown up in Lanarkshire and having lived in social housing ourselves.

 

What has been your most challenging moment in life or business? 

I was the first person to undertake a full PAS 2035 retrofit project in Scotland back in 2017. The monumental challenges we overcame during that project gave us the knowledge and determination to make sure we continued to grow and develop into the first-class contractor we are today. That moment always sticks in my mind and keeps me going when we do come up against challenges on projects.

 

How do you relax?

I love to take my dogs for long walks on my croft.

 

What phrase or quotation has inspired you the most?

No Risk, No Story (James McQueen).

 

What is the best book you have ever read? Why is it the best?

I am not much of a reader, but I do enjoy listening to the podcast series Motivational Podcasts, in particular the Denzel Washington episode.

 

Where do you find yourself most at ease? 

Taking some time out for myself on my croft, just going for long walks with my dogs.

If you weren’t in your current role, what job would you most fancy? I would definitely be back working on the tools, hands-on, delivering projects like the ones we work on now as a team.

 

What countries have you most enjoyed travelling to, for business or leisure, and why?

Dubai is right up there for me, from a leisure point of view. I love it as it’s a relaxing place to take time with my family and enjoy being away from everything in a stunning, safe country. I couldn’t recommend it more.