Watson Batty announces board director transition

Watson Batty Architects has announced that board director, Andrew Grindrod is to transition out of the business after 22 years with the award-winning practice.

With effect from April Andrew is stepping back from his senior role, to pursue other interests. Having dedicated more than 30 years to architectural design, he has made a considerable impact on the Yorkshire landscape, particularly across the care and supported living sectors, which has become a major growth area for Watson Batty.

Peter White, Managing Director at Watson Batty Architects said, “Andrew has been a highly valued member of the senior management team at Watson Batty and a great inspiration to our team for many years. He has been instrumental in helping us to grow and diversify our sector expertise to become a UK leading practice that employs 35 people nationwide working for many leading brands.

“Over the years Andrew has been a popular and pro-active ambassador for the business, as well as the industry, and we would like to thank him for his tireless commitment and wish him the very best in his next ventures.”

Andrew Grindrod, said, ‘I have enjoyed working with the regional property industry to deliver some fantastic projects including schools, colleges, care homes, churches and industrial schemes that make a difference.

“I am proud of my contributions to making Watson Batty a future focused practice, realigning its brand identity and driving the recruitment and resource processes.

“The time is now right for me to step away and take some time out, pursue other interests, but certainly not retire!”

Watson Batty Architects was established more than 45 years ago as a future focused business offering architectural, interior design and master planning solutions for all sectors. The practice, which employs a team of 35 across studios in Leeds and Loughborough, has traded ahead of targets despite the many challenges of 2020/21, and surpassed its £2.8 million turnover target last year.

Peter continues, “Our highly skilled team are now stepping up to represent the future of Watson Batty having proved themselves to be at the forefront of design innovation and aspiring leaders in their respective sectors.

“With a strong business pipeline and robust and incentivised team in place, we are pushing forward with a business priority on sustainability as we face the urgency of the Climate Crisis. We have established a sustainability taskforce to address this and to guide our clients on how to design and deliver buildings on the journey to net zero. Our principles look to drive change within the industry in sustainability as well as fire safety, modern methods of construction and inclusive design.”