About — Employee-owned since 1994

640 people, one name on the hoarding.

Caisson started as a four-person groundworks firm in Leeds. Every employee now holds a share in the company.

B.01 — Our story

A caisson is the watertight chamber that lets you build below the waterline. We took the name because the hardest part of any building is the part nobody sees.

We grew by doing the foundations other contractors did not want: river walls, deep basements and live rail possessions. The frames and fit-outs followed.

In 2014 the founders sold the company to its staff. Profit is shared each year, and nobody on our sites is working for an owner they have never met.

B.02 — Principles

Three habits we hire for.

Say it early

Bad news in week six is a problem. The same news in week forty is a claim. We report risks the day we see them.

Own the trades

Groundworks, concrete and site management are directly employed, so quality is not somebody else’s contract.

Finish properly

The last two per cent of a building is what people remember. We staff handover as heavily as we staff the frame.

B.03 — Leadership

Directors who still walk site.

Margaret Oyelaran

Managing Director

With Caisson since 2001

David Hartley

Construction Director

With Caisson since 1998

Priya Nair

Preconstruction Director

With Caisson since 2012

Tomasz Kowalski

Head of Civils

With Caisson since 2006

Ellen Brook

Health and Safety Director

With Caisson since 2015