Leading building services engineering practice, Tate Consulting, has appointed Aaron Willis as an associate to work on the company’s growing portfolio of global projects, which coincides with the company expanding into new offices in Leeds city centre.

Aaron brings more than 20 years’ experience designing and overseeing the installation of all types of mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) systems, predominantly specialising in the retail sector, spanning shop fitouts through to new shopping centres.

He is now part of the senior leadership and management team at Tate Consulting, overseeing a wide range of projects which include industrial, distribution and manufacturing developments, as well as large scale city centre apartment schemes, throughout the UK, Europe and North America.

He will also develop new business opportunities and work with existing clients to help them achieve their energy efficiency and ESG ambitions within their existing property estates.

Aaron’s appointment coincides with Tate Consulting relocating its Leeds office into a newly refurbished office suite within Bruntwood Works’ 14 King Street development, in the heart of Leeds city centre’s financial district, which will further support the growth of its team. The company, which also has offices in Belfast, London and Harrogate, was previously based near Elland Road.

Aaron said:

“Over the past decade there has been a seismic change in the types of large-scale distribution centres and automated warehouses that are being developed, largely in response to the growth of online shopping. In addition, city centre residential markets are now being driven by high-rise, energy efficient, build to rent developments with high quality amenities.

“Tate Consulting is at the forefront of both these sectors and is currently working on an impressive range of projects, on behalf of national and international clients, throughout the UK, Ireland, Netherlands, Czech Republic and North America. The opportunity to work on and manage these types of career defining projects, within a growing team, makes this a very exciting move.”

Ray Cavanagh, Leeds office director at Tate Consulting added:

“Aaron has a wealth of experience across the building services and MEP sectors, as well as excellent sustainability and energy saving credentials, which will further enhance the services that we offer our clients. Crucially, his appointment will also help to shape the next generation of our senior leadership team in Leeds.

“We now plan to continue growing our Leeds team and will recruit more mechanical and electrical engineers at all levels this year, and relocating into Leeds city centre will support this. As well as giving us space to grow, 14 King Street offers meeting rooms, break out areas, showers, cycle storage and an impressive reception area, in a prime central location with the railway station and all the city’s bars, restaurants and shops on the doorstep, which makes it a fantastic place to work.

“The move also gives our colleagues and customers better access to the office via the public transport network, thus supporting our growth strategy to attract and retain the very best talent, as well as our environmental commitment to reducing our carbon footprint.”

This latest expansion follows Tate Consulting expanding into Northern Ireland last year and the company now employs a team of nine in its Belfast office, with further appointments planned in the coming months.

Tate Consulting provides a full range of commercial engineering solutions from MEP concept design to project handover and post-occupancy evaluation, as well as building physics, fire engineering services, sustainability and building performance assessments and master planning.

The company is currently working on numerous high-profile residential projects including build to rent developments across the UK for Moda Living and various schemes in London for Rockwell, which include a 30-storey tower in Canary Wharf. In addition, Tate Consulting is working for Primark on several state-of-the-art distribution centres throughout Europe, supporting high street giant, The Range, on new store openings, and providing mechanical and electrical services on a new distribution centre and offices for publishing house HarperCollins in Glasgow, which is being developed by Tritax Symmetry.