CEO DIARIES
WH Scott is expanding its digital programme, allowing customers to see one complete compliance picture.
the risk does not disappear because the price was attractive; it simply transfers to the person doing the work. I expect the pressure on specification, documentation and traceability to increase, and I welcome it. The third, and the one that gets least attention, is that compliance is going digital whether the industry likes it or not. Customers, insurers and auditors increasingly want live, evidenced, queryable records rather than a folder of certificates. Firms still running on paper will find themselves quietly excluded from tenders. On trends, the interesting one is artificial intelligence in inspection and monitoring. There is real value in tools that capture better data, flag deterioration earlier and reduce reliance on a purely subjective visual assessment. I would put it carefully, though: this technology should sharpen an examination engineer’s judgement, not substitute for it. The person signing the report still has to be competent, and still has to be accountable. The last thing I would predict is continued consolidation.
This is a fragmented sector of owner-managed businesses, many reaching a succession point at the same time. That will keep reshaping the market, and it puts an onus on acquirers to integrate properly rather than simply collect logos. We will keep growing, organically and by acquisition: I expect to add around 200 people over the next three years, taking the group beyond 550 employees.
Are there any projects or initiatives that your company is working on that you’re excited about? Two acquisitions and one programme – in that order of visibility, though perhaps the reverse order of importance. Last year we acquired Infrastruct Asset Management Services, which brought structural inspection, surveying
20 | September 2026 |
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and non-destructive testing of critical infrastructure into the group: bridges, reservoirs, tunnels and turbines. It sits within Metlab, and takes us from inspecting the equipment that lifts things to inspecting the assets themselves. For customers in construction, engineering, water and agriculture, that is a natural extension of the same competence. This April we added Workplace Inspection Services,
strengthening our UK inspection capability across LOLER, PUWER, PSSR and COSHH. It was the latest step in a UK growth strategy that has been running for several years now, and it broadens what we can offer existing customers rather than simply adding revenue. As we look towards the remainder of 2026, we have
some exciting strategic acquisitions in the pipeline that will significantly enhance our capabilities and further strengthen the Group. These opportunities will require considerable focus to ensure we successfully integrate them and maximise the synergies with our existing businesses. I look forward to being able to share more details and discuss these exciting developments in due course. The programme I am most interested in, though, is the digital one: extending our asset management portal and instant reporting consistently across every brand in the group, so that a customer using three of our businesses sees one compliance picture rather than three. It is less eye-catching than a deal, but it is the thing that will still be paying us back in ten years. I would also mention the technical work our design and fabrication team takes on, which is where the engineering pride in this group really sits. Refurbishing the original turbine hall cranes at Battersea Power Station is the sort of project that does not come along often, and it is a reminder that this industry gets to work on genuinely irreplaceable things.
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