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The Business Magazine July 2024
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Marine engineering group welcomes new operations director at its new Southampton HQ

David McCarthy - picture contributed
David McCarthy - picture contributed
3 February 2025
David McCarthy - picture contributed

SMS Group, the marine engineering firm, has welcomed David McCarthy as its operations director at its new interior outfit and marine refurbishment headquarters in the heart of Southampton.

The company announced the purchase of the refurbished 10,000 sq ft Empress House last summer.

READ MORE: Poole's Anchoright expands to superyachts amid increased demand

"Our growth story is somewhat unique," said director of outfit at the firm Dan Lockyer.

"We’ve moved into new, dedicated premises perhaps 12 to 18 months earlier than we predicted, and our team, alongside our pipeline has grown considerably.

"To have someone like David join the business, at this key juncture, is genuinely exciting. We’re building something special, and I speak for the entire team when I say ‘welcome’, and we’re very much looking forward to working with David and seeing how we further enhance, improve, and grow the business."

Lockyer added: "Moving from Western Avenue to Empress House is a huge step in the right direction. Having dedicated warehousing, logistics and storage - perfectly integrated with the office suite - is a big help.

"So too are our meeting rooms, breakout areas and social spaces. It’s the perfect home to grow the business."

McCarthy has a career spanning three decades, including seagoing and land-based roles for P&O Cruises and Carnival UK, time at award-winning London-based design agency AD Associates and at Independent Maritime Advisors for numerous new building projects.

"I join SMS at an exciting time for the business, with a solid pipeline, including numerous major projects for Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL), a three ship, two-year, programme of works for AIDA, and many other work streams running right through to 2026/27," he said.

"SMS has a great reputation and I relish the challenging of building the brand and helping scale the business.”

SMS Group trades from eight locations in the UK, including Southampton, Poole, Portsmouth and Bristol. It also has a base in Miami, USA.


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Giles Gwinnett is a writer at The Business Magazine. He has been a journalist for more than 20 years and covered a vast array of topics at a range of media settings - in print and online. After his NCTJ newspaper training, he became a reporter in Hampshire before moving to a news agency in Gloucestershire. In recent years, he has been covering the financial markets along with company news for an investor-focused web portal. His many interests include politics, energy and the environment. He lives in Dorset.

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