DECEMBER 2018 Business 25
It may be better recognised as a global
telecommunications company but
Manchester is strategically key to
Vodafone.
It is the company’s best performing
city with 96% coverage and in return
they are a prominent Northern
Powerhouse partner as well as a key
player in the Mayor’s GM Digital
Strategy.
This makes them worthy winners
of the Manchester Airport head office
outside Greater Manchester category
- up against the likes of Novosco and
IT Lab Limited. Established in 1984 as
Rascal Strategic Radio, it became an
independent company in 1991 and
is part of the Vodafone Group - the
world’s second largest mobile phone
company.
Interestingly, the first ever mobile
phone calls in the UK were made on
the Vodaphone network in 1985.
Over the last two years, Vodafone
has been heavily investing in its North
West site - The Northern Hub - based in
Wythenshawe, which now houses 1,700
people and includes a 1,200-seat state-of-the-art contact centre and newly
refurbished buildings.
And looking to the future,
Manchester will remain a key site for
the global firm as they look at plans
for 5G in the city region, rolling out in
2019.
Deploying dedicated indoor building
solutions to improve coverage and
capacity at key locations across Greater
Manchester, including Old Trafford,
the Etihad, Trafford Centre and The
Arndale and Manchester Arena is also
on the radar.Manchester airport head office outside gM: vodaphone
hill dickinson turnover £25M-£50M: pp o’connor
They have good form for investing in
the network with £2bn spent improving
services across the country since the
beginning of 2014 and there are plans
to invest the same again in the next few
years.
Turnover for Vodafone UK, which
has its head office in Berkshire, was
£47.6bn in 2016/17 with £14.1bn profit
before tax.
Head of networks James Hope said: “I
am elated to win a business of the year
award and with the growth of Vodafone
over the last three years.
“We are investing heavily into
the region and having a real impact
here in the North West. We feel very
humbled to win this award because
we are massive supporters of Greater
Manchester.”
Tricia Williams, Chief Operating
Officer at Manchester Airport, said: “As
ever the quality in this year’s finalists
was extremely high and a positive
reflection of the strength of the region’s
economy.
“That was very much the case in our
category, making the decision to pick
a winner extremely difficult. At the
same time, our congratulations go to
Vodafone, which stood out in terms of
its commitment to the region’s skills
agenda, among other things.
“Overall, it was particularly pleasing
to see the strong international reach
the of so many entrants this year,
underlining the role Manchester
Airport plays in connecting the North
to key global destinations.”Manchester-based demolition and civil
engineering specialist P P O’Connor
has gone from strength to strength.
With a strong order book, the Irlam
headquartered family-run business
has enjoyed its most successful year in
2017.
With 250 staff, the £31m turnover
business is led by CEO Charmaine
O’Connor.
Last year, the company secured the
demolition of the historic grandstand
and integral Queens Room at the
Curragh Racecourse in County Kildare,
Eire. Working in partnership with J
Murphy International, the works had to
be carried out sympathetically due to
the close proximity to the racecourse.
Following this contract, the firm
has secured a number of projects inDublin. In Manchester, P P O’Connor
has worked on the £750m Circle Square
development on Oxford Road in
Manchester.
The company teamed up with John
Sisk & Son, undertaking a 25-week
basement excavation.
Earlier this year, the company
completed Siemen’s car park
reconfiguration at Sir Williams House,
Manchester, and demolished 54
Wenlock Way, Manchester, a 14-storey
office tower block which was former
occupied by Manchester council
offices.
In September, P P O’Connor also
acquired Galvac out of administration.
Salford-based Galvac operated
nationally and was part of civil
engineering contractor GPL Group
which entered into administration in
August.
The acquisition secured 28 jobs.
On winning the turnover between
£25m-£50m category, Charmaine
O’Connor said: “This was a strong
category so to actually win is amazing.“We are a growing business and have
a lot of exciting projects in the pipeline
and I’m looking forward to taking the
company to the next level.”
Geraldine Ryan, head of Hill
Dickinson’s Manchester office and
commercial litigation team, presented
the award for turnover between £25m -
£50m to P P O’Connor.
She said: “This was an extremely
strong category with an exceptional
range of businesses, making it a real
challenge for the judges to pick a
winner. However, the judges were
particularly impressed with this family
run business, which at its helm has a
female CEO in what had traditionally
been viewed as a man’s world.
“The business develops and retains
employees and is focussed on seeking
to improve the image of their sector
in terms of environmental, health and
safety and diversity issues.
“They have handled some great
projects working with other local
businesses and public authorities and
are a very worthy winner.”