Chippenham civil engineering company secures £1 million investment

By Nicky Godding

2 April 2021

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MJ Church, one of the largest civil engineering, earthworks and waste management contractors in the South West is eyeing future growth, following a £1.1million investment in new equipment with support from Lloyds Bank.

The Wiltshire-based contractor has added four articulated Volvo dumper trucks to its 25-strong fleet in response to high-demand from customers - reaffirming its commitment to supporting the ongoing recovery across the region.

The heavy plant machinery will be used to support the firm’s ongoing civils and earthworks projects while continuing to offer customers access to the latest vehicle technology across its plant and transport solutions.

The family-run business continues to secure large contractor works across the South West and is currently undertaking major earthworks on the Dorset Visual Impact Provision Project, working for Morgan Sindall on behalf of their client National Grid. MJ Church is also the main contractor on a £17.5million upgrade of junction 15 of the M4 motorway which began in August 2020. Highways England’s Growth and Housing Funded project is being jointly funded by Swindon Borough Council, the South West Local Enterprise Partnership and Persimmon and Redrow.

The seven-figure loan comes off the back of a 20-year long relationship with Lloyds Bank which has enabled the business to drive its expansion ambitions, supporting over 400 employees and growing its annual turnover

Ben Staff, managing director at MJ Church, said: “We remain committed to maintaining a modern, tech-enabled fleet of vehicles to allow us to deliver best-in-class services to our customers across our wide-range of service areas. We’re constantly looking for ways to enhance our technology and the availability of first-class equipment - this investment does just that.

“Over the years we have developed a strong connection with Jon, our relationship director at Lloyds Bank who completely understands the complexities of our sector and our long-term business aims. With his backing, we have been able to continue our growth ambitions and ensure that we play our part in the region’s economic recovery.”

Jon Szabo, relationship director at Lloyds Bank, added: “Ben and the team have been a long-standing client of Lloyds Bank and we’re proud to have been able to support them in the latest stage of their growth plans. MJ Church is a dynamic business offering a diverse range of services from skip hire and waste collection through to multi-million-pound civil engineering services. Adding the new vehicles to its fleet will allow the business to continue operate at the very top of its game.”

By Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe.

After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts.

She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.