Bowmer + Kirkland


Bowmer + Kirkland Group is a British construction services and security company, established in 1923 as a partnership between joiner Alfred Bowmer and bricklayer Robert William Kirkland.
It has since grown to become a successful privately owned construction and development group. There are 29 companies in the Group most of which are construction-related, although there is a Homeland Security Division, which includes companies based in the UK and USA.
The company rebranded in November 2018, changing the colours and font and dropping the stylised key for a plus sign.
In 2020, B+K were requested by the British Red Cross to change the colour of the red plus sign as it was too similar to theirs. The plus sign is now predominantly blue to match with B+K’s brand colours.

Operations

Group headquarters are at Heage in Derbyshire, with regional B+K offices in Sunderland, Manchester, Scotland and London. Bowmer + Kirkland employs in excess of 1500 people and gained Investors in People accreditation in 2001 and was re-accredited in 2004, 2007, 2011 and 2016.
The construction division, which accounts for approximately 80% of turnover, is an Associate Member of the Considerate Constructors Scheme. The company has received a number of Gold Awards from RoSPA and has established policies for Quality, Management Systems, Ethical Employment, Training and Development, Sustainability and Environment and a Sub-contractors Code of Conduct – helping the supply chain adhere to B+K’s own business standards.
In July 2009 the firm was involved in a crane collapse in Liverpool that left a man paralysed and 100 people removed from their homes. The company was subsequently found guilty of breaching health and safety laws.

Major projects

High-profile projects include St George's Park National Football Centre, in Staffordshire for The Football Association, Woburn Forest in Bedfordshire, for Center Parcs, Trinity Square in Gateshead – a mixed-use development featuring a Tesco superstore, retail units and student accommodation, for Spenhill Developments and one of the first Olympic legacy projects outside London – Derby’s Multi Sports Arena which includes a velodrome.
St Vincent Plaza, Glasgow, Scotland.,
B+K were appointed to the Department for Education’s Contractors Framework in 2013, Regional Framework in 2014, and Construction Framework in 2017.
They were the main contractor for the building of The Word library in South Shields.
In 2019, Bowmer + Kirkland started work on a £75 million students flats scheme for the University of Lincoln. The scheme is set to deliver ten student residences in Lincoln, providing 1,372 rooms. The project is due to be fully completed by September 2021. The first 400 units have already been completed for the start of the 2020 academic year.