THOMASONS - Key Persons


Alan Longley

Job Titles:
  • Associate
  • BIM Manager
Alan has worked in the construction industry for over 40 years. Since joining Thomasons in 2016 he has been leading the AutoCad and Revit team on a varied range of complex new build, refurbishment, and historic building projects. Alan has experience in a wide range of sectors including education, residential, distribution warehouses, mixed use developments, retail, hotels, heritage, healthcare, prisons, sports stadia, and office buildings. Recent projects include the restoration of a fire damaged Grade II* listed early 16th century timber framed manor house set within a Grade 2 listed park, using like for like materials and traditional building techniques, winning an award from the Institution of Structural Engineers. More recently Alan has been involved in leading the resolution of technical cladding problems on existing high-rise buildings. In his role as BIM manager, Alan is responsible for implementing and overseeing BIM processes and working to industry standards and specifications relating to all levels of BIM.

Andrew Dobrowolski

Job Titles:
  • Associate
  • Quantity Surveyor
Andrew is a quantity surveyor with a broad range of skills and experience gained over 24 years. He joined Thomasons' Manchester office in 2020 as a Senior Quantity Surveyor having developed his career with a number of consultancies and client organisations and was promoted to Associate in 2021. His expertise is predominately in a quantity surveying role, across a number of sectors including, cladding remediation, insurance industry, retail, residential, education, distribution, manufacturing, transport, hotels, leisure, health and telecommunications. Andrew oversees the cladding remediation projects for the QS discipline and is involved in a number of major cladding remediation projects.

Brian N. Bickerstaffe

Job Titles:
  • Associate
Brian has worked for Thomasons since 1998 and has more than 35 years of experience in the residential, educational and retail sector. As a Chartered Building Surveyor, Brian specialises in the diagnostic assessment of flood and water damage, its ramifications and repair. He also specialises in Litigation issues acting in the capacity of expert witness, the assessment and repair of building failures and contract and project management, Brian performs party wall duties and prepares schedules of dilapidation and condition for presentation in the commercial and industrial sectors. Working predominantly in the North West of England many of Brian's projects have been carried out for clients such as the peel group, the universities of Manchester, Salford and Liverpool, Manchester City Council and numerous local councils and housing associations together with a variety of high profile private clients.

Chris Lewis

Job Titles:
  • Associate Director
Chris heads up our Structural Engineering team in Newcastle; he is a Chartered Structural and Civil Engineer as well as a Conservation Accredited Engineer (CARE) with over 25 years experience. Over this time, he has worked across a wide variety of sectors covering both buildings and infrastructure. Most recently Chris has been focused on buildings and historical structures, ranging from more recent concrete and early steel structures through to Elizabethan Mansions. As well as buildings, Chris has worked on a number of historical structures within infrastructure, including railway stations and bridges. Outside of the heritage realm, Chris also has experience of structural investigations, defect identification and expert witness work, as well as numerous new build structural commissions. Last year he was recognised for his technical expertise by being awarded Fellowship Status of the ICE.

Chris Walker

Job Titles:
  • Associate Director
Chris is a chartered Building Surveyor with 25 years of experience in the property and construction industry. Chris has a diversity of professional experience in project management, contract management and asset management involving multi-disciplinary client organisations within education, healthcare, leisure, retail, housing, commercial real estate, local and central government sectors. Chris's experience also includes responsibility for the management of a team of building surveyors delivering commercial building surveying and technical due diligence services, and building remediation and redevelopment works.

Clare Hudson

Job Titles:
  • Associate
  • Chartered Engineer
Clare is a Chartered Engineer with over 10 years' industry experience. She has held the role of project lead and structural designer for a wide range of projects and has experience in the analysis and design of structures of both new builds, and the modification and refurbishments of existing buildings. Clare also investigates building defects and prepares reports for litigation purposes. Since joining Thomasons in 2017, Clare has been heavily involved in the structural assessment and reinstatement works for buildings subject to damage by fire. Her most notable projects include the Grade II listed Church of the Ascension, Salford which was ravaged by fire in 2017. She has also been involved in the structural works associated with an extensive fire at the Village Bakery site in Wrexham. The works included extending existing buildings and the construction of a new 210,000 sq ft office / bakery building.

David Cooper - CTO

Job Titles:
  • Technical Director
Joining Thomasons ten years ago, David has extensive experience in structural design across projects in the retail, leisure, commercial, residential, education and industrial sectors. In addition to leading the design of new build schemes, he specialises in reinstatement works for buildings subject to structural failure or damaged by fire, flood or impact. His recent projects include the reinstatement of a fire-damaged foundry in Bolton and providing specialist structural advice for dismantling the former main stand at Liverpool Football Club's Anfield stadium, creating new social spaces for students at the University of Central Lancashire and a development of 160 new homes in Salford.

Gary Brown

Job Titles:
  • Director
With past experience of working in design offices and as a resident engineer on site, Gary has a strong grounding in the construction industry. As a director, he oversees projects involving new buildings, infrastructure and refurbishments, including historic structures. His specific area of expertise is in the design and investigation of defective structures. Gary is frequently consulted about remediation work for buildings damaged by fire, explosion, flood or collapse, and with extensive knowledge in this area he is in high demand as an expert witness.

Gary Lyle

Job Titles:
  • Associate Director
Gary joined the Glasgow office as an Associate in 2018 having worked for a number of years for a reputable Glasgow based practice. Gary is a Chartered Building Surveyor with over 15 years industry experience. Gary has extensive experience and knowledge in the insurance sector on major and complex losses whilst also having undertaken projects in commercial, residential, retail and industrial sectors. In addition, Gary has a wide range of experience in all other aspects of Building Surveying and Project Management.

Gawaine Dawes

Job Titles:
  • Associate
  • Chartered Structural Engineer
Gawaine is a Chartered Structural Engineer with over 13 years' experience in a wide range of sectors. He has most recently worked in the theatre and music industries, specialising in the assessment of existing venues as well as working on major refurbishment projects in prestigious, often listed, buildings. Since joining Thomasons in 2020, Gawaine has been involved in investigating structural defects and refurbishments of existing, historic buildings. His recent projects include the renovation and repair work at the Grade II listed The Winter Gardens Theatre, Morecambe and restoration work at the Grade I listed All Saints Church, Mackworth which was devastated by fire.

Guy Freeman - CTO

Job Titles:
  • Technical Director
Guy is a chartered Building Surveyor and Fellow of the RICS with over 35 years' experience in private practice consultancy and construction. Working across a wide range of sectors including office, industrial, retail, leisure and hospitality, education, health, and government, including listed buildings. He has acted in contract administrator, employer's agent, project manager and funder project monitoring roles dealing with new build, repair and refurbishment and major loss insurance reinstatement projects. Clients range from blue chip organisations, Government departments, higher education, national retailers to high net-worth private individuals. Guy has worked as a building surveying expert witness for over 10-years in the exacting and very demanding world of contentious construction and property disputes appearing in Court under cross examination, adjudication, and mediation proceedings. Guy provides wide ranging experience to the Thomasons project teams working on the residential high-rise cladding refurbishment projects and the due diligence consultancy work. Guy has a specialist interest in fire safety matters and complex legislative framework changes post-Grenfell.

Heather Mannings

Job Titles:
  • Director
Heather has 20 years' experience of structural engineering projects. She initially worked with Arup in Sheffield, London and New York, qualifying as a Chartered Engineer with both ICE and IStructE. Heather focuses on resourcing and quality control for projects. She specialises in investigating structural defects in both modern and historic buildings, and also works on design and refurbishment projects. Her projects encompass domestic homes and commercial premises, including the iconic Grade II listed Royal Exchange Building in Manchester. Heather is also regularly called upon as an expert witness.

Ian Booth - CTO

Job Titles:
  • Technical Director
Ian has worked in the construction industry for more than 38 years and has held a series of senior level roles in consultancies across North West England. He has been responsible for the design and management of civil and structural projects across a wide range of sectors, including education, retail, leisure, commercial, industrial, healthcare, municipal, residential, waste sector, flood remediation/protection and ports. He also provides structural advice for insurance and loss adjusting claims. His many high profile local projects include new build, extensions and refurbishments for the University of Liverpool and Liverpool John Moores University, including the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts. He also acted as engineering project director in delivering sports halls and accommodation for the soccer academies of Liverpool Football Club and Everton Football Club. Other projects include the recently completed Act 2 renovation of Liverpool's Grade ll Listed Royal Court Theatre, together with a number of £multi-million private homes.

Jane Entwistle - CTO

Job Titles:
  • Technical Director
Jane joined Thomasons in 2003 having previously worked for Arup and a medium sized consultancy, she brought with her expertise of working with historic buildings. Jane is a Conservation Accredited Engineer. She works primarily on existing buildings and refurbishment projects and has a specific interest in historic buildings. Her work on restoring the Grade II* Victorian conservatory at Wentworth Castle in Barnsley won the best sustainable project category in the 2014 IStructE North West Structural Awards and her work on Norton Priory, Runcorn won the same award in 2017.

Jo Wright

Job Titles:
  • Associate Director
Jo is a Chartered Building Surveyor who moved over to project management. She has worked as a project manager for many years and has an MA in Conservation of Historic Buildings and Places. Her experience is varied, having worked in various sectors including historic buildings, museums and galleries, universities, and defective cladding on high rise residential blocks.

Julian Lee - CTO

Job Titles:
  • Technical Director
Julian joined Thomasons in 2013 and has 30 years' experience in structural engineering. Julian has experience across a wide range of industry sectors including retail, residential, commercial, hotels, stadia, education and industrial facilities. Notable projects Julian has worked on include, Manchester United Football Club - stadium expansions, Asda Falkirk - 270,000 ft2 chilled distribution centre (resident engineer), Symphony Housing - reconstruction of fire damaged apartment block, Sainsburys - Banbury, United Utilities - WwTW, Park Inn - new Manchester hotel and Blessed Trinity RC High School (Burnley) - BSF programme. He currently focusses on project managing building reinstatements for major loss insurance claims.

Kevin Baird

Job Titles:
  • Architectural Technician
  • Associate
Kevin is an Architectural Technician with over 30 years' experience across many market sectors including residential, industrial, commercial, healthcare, food manufacture, pharmaceutical, petro-chemical, nuclear, education, offices, transport and technology among others. He has worked in multi-discipline consultancies, main contractors and client side roles, where he has worked as part of a team as well as leading from client briefing through to construction supervision and handover. Kevin has been with Thomasons for 3 years, as Design Manager, working on a variety of restoration projects and fire safety recladding of domestic high rise towers.

Kornel Mielcarek

Job Titles:
  • Associate
Prior to starting at Thomasons in 2006, Kornel worked in Poland for 7 years and was responsible for managing and supervising projects in the industrial sector, delivering projects both nationally and internationally. He has a wide range of experience and has been responsible for many projects in design, co-ordination, with day-to-day running of the building projects, recladding, structural inspections, assessment, analysis and repair of collapsed, accident and fire-damaged structures. He won an Institution of Structural Engineers commendation in 2017 for 'Sustainable Project Redevelopment of Norton Priory Museum' and an award in 2021 for ‘Most Innovative Project Reinstatement of the Church of the Ascension'.

Luke Harbour

Job Titles:
  • Associate
Luke joined Thomasons in 2005 as a Senior Technician. Thomasons supported Luke through university courses at Bolton, Sheffield Hallam and Salford. Luke's Building Surveying and Project Management experience has been in the property restoration/reconstruction in the insurance sector, including fast-track reinstatement schemes across all sectors including hotels, leisure and industrial facilities to minimise construction periods and reduction of Business Interruption losses. Luke now supports a team of Project Managers dealing with residential high-rise cladding refurbishment projects. These schemes involve both in house and external design consultants alongside other stakeholders to deliver urgent fire safety works to complex buildings in challenging locations and to ambitious timelines.

Matthew Gadsby

Job Titles:
  • Associate
Matthew Gadsby Mat is a chartered building surveyor based in the Manchester office. He brings over 10 years of Building Surveying and project management experience across the housing, education, commercial, and retail sectors, as well as a variety of professional services including technical due diligence, dilapidations and party walls instructions. Prior to qualifying as a building surveyor, Mat worked as a land surveyor on large-scale civil and commercial developments. Since joining Thomasons he has been working to restore the grade II listed St John the Evangelist Church, a variety of remedial cladding projects, due-diligence surveys, defect investigations, and a number of complex insurance instructions.

Matthew Gaffey

Job Titles:
  • Associate
Matthew works on our Building Surveying Team in Manchester.

Matthew Pimbley

Job Titles:
  • Associate

Michael Broadbent - CTO

Job Titles:
  • Technical Director
Over a 30-year career in the construction industry, Michael has built an impressive portfolio of projects over a wide range of business sectors and developed strong long-term relationships with high profile clients. In the retail sector he has designed new stores or major refurbishments for Sainsbury's, Asda, Lidl, Aldi and Netto, and has led major distribution warehousing projects for leading brands including B&Q, Asda and Volvo. His leisure sector clients include LivingWell leisure, Esporta and Pure Gym. He has also provided structural expertise for major mixed-use developments including Gloucester Quays and Media City, and in the educational sector he has worked on many new schools and refurbishments, including BSF and PFI procured schools with leading developers including Bovis Lend Lease and Carillion.

Peter Brook - CTO

Job Titles:
  • Technical Director
  • Chartered Quantity Surveyor
Peter is a chartered quantity surveyor with a broad range of skills and experience gained over 30 years. He joined Thomasons' Manchester office in 2017 as an Associate having developed his career with a number of high-profile consultancies, and was promoted to Technical Director in 2019, . His extensive expertise spans quantity surveying, project management, employer's agent and expert witness roles, across the private and public sectors and insurance industry. Peter has acted on many major loss claims including complex projects such as the £12m fast track food processing plant refurbishment for Tilda Ltd. He is experienced in major regeneration and re-development schemes, including a major £multi-million mixed use commercial development in Sheffield city centre. Peter's role at Thomasons is to bring his cost management experience to enhance the project management of £multi-million projects.

Philip Hirst

Job Titles:
  • Associate Director
Philip joins us to head the Building Surveying team in our Newcastle branch.

Richard Levery

Job Titles:
  • Director
Joining Thomasons in 1986, Richard was originally based in Leeds before setting up the Manchester office in 1990. Today he continues to head the Manchester office and also takes overall responsibility for Thomasons' offices in Liverpool and Glasgow.

Stephen Biggs

Job Titles:
  • Associate Director
Stephen joined Thomasons in 2015 having worked for a reputable Manchester-based consultancy for many years plus one of the largest privately owned property development companies in the UK. Stephen is a Chartered Surveyor with more than 20 years' experience, predominantly within private practice consultancy having worked across a range of sectors including residential, commercial, retail and industrial. Alongside core surveying, his experience spans project management, Employer's Agent and major loss insurance reinstatement. More recently, Stephen has played a prominent role in the investigation of cladding to high-risk buildings across the country, assisting clients seeking Building Safety funding post-Grenfell. In addition, Stephen provides support to other surveyors throughout the team, including those looking to undertake their chartership.

Stuart Crossley

Job Titles:
  • Associate
Stuart is based in the Glasgow office as an Associate Building Surveyor, having worked previously for a surveying practice based in Scotland. Stuart is a Chartered Surveyor with over 18 years' experience in the construction industry. He has a track record of providing sound professional advice in a variety of sectors, covering the full range of surveying services. Stuart covers areas such as professional and legal surveys, property care and maintenance, access audits and building inspections. Stuart mainly specialises in large and complex insurance losses, including a significant role in catastrophe responses following various flood and storm events in the UK. Insurance related activities include technical reporting, contract administration, reinstatement cost assessments and building guarantee involvement.