Gloster MEP is an innovative mechanical, electrical and public health (MEP) contractor, well-known in the industry for its streamlined solutions. Pre-Construction Director Ben Armstrong explained to Hannah Barnett how the company has made early engagement its USP.
Planning ahead is a desirable asset for any organisation but in construction it is fundamental. Gloster MEP’s pre-construction department carries out full internal reviews at tender to ascertain if a project is viable for the Gloster business model. Doing so de-risks a project from unknown costs.
“I can tell a client where there are going to be issues, and I can tell them from a technical standpoint how to make it better, based on experience,” said Pre-Construction Director Ben Armstrong. “Generally, we are able to influence the projects from an early stage to streamline them from an engineering commercial perspective and to ensure that the project is as good as it can be.”
Developing a speciality
Gloster was founded in 2010, initially delivering fairly traditional MEP projects. By the time Mr Armstrong joined the business in 2015, the company had begun developing its own in-house CAD department – a specialised internal team using Computer-Aided Design software to create technical drawings, 3D models and blueprints. Gloster now employs around 100 direct staff in London. For 2025, turnover was £121 million, an increase on £112 million the year before.
“At the moment, we’re concentrating on commercial fit-out in London, refurbishment and decarbonisation,” said Mr Armstrong. “Generally, our sweet spot for larger projects is around the £15-to-25-million-mark.”
Reflecting the fact that many large businesses are facing increasingly stringent EPC requirements, Gloster’s roster has many projects dedicated to helping clients meet targets. The company has perfected replacing heating and cooling plants with more efficient alternatives like air source heat pumps – and doing so with little disruption to a building. Again, pre-planning is vital.
“These jobs require us to work in situ, because generally clients don’t want to decant the whole building,” said Mr Armstrong. “To work in live environments with minimal disruption, early engagement is key. We have invested heavily in technology like point cloud scanners to ensure that we can plan a risk-averse bid at the tender stage to validate the job prior to getting on site.”
The company also now has an entire division, Gloster Validations, which provides independent, specialist on-site validation surveys for MEP installations across refurbishment, fit-out, decarbonisation and building development projects.
“Gloster Validations is concentrated on establishing costs at early stages,” Mr Armstrong explained. “We can then feed that information into the stage three and four designs. This is to make sure that when the tender comes out, it contains what needs to be installed, rather than some high-level design with no backing behind it.”
Projects run on planning
Four New Street Square in the City of London, delivered in 2025, was a flagship project for Gloster. It involved a £21 million, 82,000sqft fit-out for Landsec under the banner of Overbury. The finished project had a BREEAM Excellent Rating, a WELL Gold rating and NABERS 4.5-star energy efficiency rating, demonstrating what Mr Armstrong called “the pinnacle of all sustainability criteria.”
“That was a live building, and the existing tenant was considered a high risk – there could be no downtime,” he continued. “The strategy was a full turnkey solution from initial validations, surveys, digital coordination and switchovers of plant. We created 3D run-throughs and walkthroughs of sequencing.”
Alongside Overbury, the company also produced a CEWA document – a highly detailed operational document used before any high-risk construction or modifications can take place. Several logistical and installation plans came directly from the CEWA document, and Gloster now uses that level of documentation as a benchmark across all its projects.
“It was a large job, and there were some issues caused by local gas networks that we couldn’t foresee, but we managed to overcome them and deliver the project in time,” said Mr Armstrong. “Off the back of our success, we were shortlisted for Carbon Reduction Champion at the Construction News Awards.”
Gloster has invested heavily into pre-construction design by establishing a Building Information Modelling (BIM) team – professionals from various disciplines using shared 3D digital models to plan, design, construct and manage buildings. The company uses Revit, BIM software that exports information into common data environments for everyone in the tendering department to review. The company is also utilising a program called Open Space.
“Every two weeks on live projects, the QA manager will walk around with a camera, and Open Space will automatically log installation progress,” Mr Armstrong explained. “We can link the models to on-site views and do desktop studies away from site. The next step will be implementing AI, to enable automatic reporting.”
Simultaneously, the Gloster estimating department provides a full Contract Sum Analysis against every tender, which is essentially an early design review, free of charge.
“This means when we walk on site, we know exactly what we’re walking into,” said Mr Armstrong. “I don’t think many companies do that. I spend a lot of my time value engineering projects whilst on the design and build stage, to maximise profit and make the system as streamlined as possible.”
Working together
It is obvious how early engagement is intertwined with Gloster’s success. While much of that happens internally, the company also encourages the same throughout its supply chain. This includes agreeing the stage three and four design with a consultant as early as possible, so there are no changes later on that could waste time and resources. That also allows for improved safety, quality, delivery and technical capabilities.
Gloster counts Victaulic, the mechanical pipework company, as a key supplier. Mitsubishi and Daikin, both market leaders for air source heat pumps, are also important partners.
“Those heat pumps are very good products, and both those companies are very helpful in the design stage,” Mr Armstrong said. “Victaulic are also very useful in assisting with take-offs and modelling at the early stage.
“We advise a lot of our supply chain on where the market’s going. For example, EPDs are becoming more common on projects now, as well as material passports. There are some larger manufacturers that find it difficult to provide that, and we just advise them to start moving in that direction.”
Gloster runs a successful apprenticeship scheme – it is one of the top five apprentice employers in London from an MEP contract perspective. 76% of its staff are internally grown. A trainee spends two years on the scheme and has the freedom to choose which department might suit them, from accounts, on site or design.
“I went through the programme, now I’m one of the directors,” explained Mr Armstrong, in conclusion. “A lot of our senior staff came up that way. Ultimately, we try and cover all facets in the business and provide an optimal environment for professional development. Our office is very open. Everyone talks to each other. Our MD often refers to it as a football changing room because we’re all on the same team.”