This week we brought our teams together for our 2026 Back to Work Stand Down at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh – a highly engaging and valuable session as we reflect on 2025 and set clear expectations for the year ahead.

2025 Business Update & 2026 Outlook

Our Group Business Director, Thomas Walsh, shared a review of 2025 performance alongside our outlook and expectations for 2026, reinforcing our strategic direction and growth ambitions.

Health & Safety Performance Review, Matt Normyle and Declan Walker delivered a comprehensive review of our 2025 Health & Safety performance, highlighting key learnings, achievements and areas for continued focus.

Technical Division Update

Thomas Walsh also provided an update on our Technical division, covering lessons learned, opportunities ahead, continued investment in our people, apprenticeships, and our strategic move into Overhead Lines.

Operational Performance & Streetworks, Mark Rust updated the team on our operational performance, with a particular focus on streetworks compliance, performance, and our commitment to continuous improvement.

DepotNet Training

Michael Martyn delivered practical training on DepotNet, reinforcing standards, consistency and best practice across our delivery teams.

Commercial Update

Phillip Hastings delivered a review of successes & learnings from 2025 with a forward look to 2026 too. He also shared some personal safety stories to keep with the theme of the day.

Guest Speaker – Wellbeing in the Workplace

We were delighted to welcome Gary Owen, who delivered a fantastic and insightful session on stress and anxiety in the workplace. A highly impactful presentation with many practical takeaways for all.

Overall, it was an extremely engaging and productive stand down, reinforcing our values, expectations, and commitment to safety, wellbeing, performance and continuous improvement as we move into 2026.

A big thank you to everyone involved 👏

We move on to repeat these key messages to our teams in England & Wales next week.