The future is certainly looking bright for Carlisle-headquartered Story Contracting.

After a year of record growth and an exceptional start to 2019, securing a five-year work bank worth up to £200m, Story has announced three senior promotions across the infrastructure business.

From February 1, Ian Purdham and John MacArthur will become, respectively, managing directors of Story Contracting’s Rail England and Story Scotland divisions.

Frank McFadden will take on the role of rail technical assurance director, ensuring that Story Contracting is a leading business in all technical aspects of rail work.

Frank’s appointment will be strengthened with the development of robust technical assurance management in the two rail divisions.

Jason Butterworth, Story Contracting chief executive, said: “I am delighted with the progress that our company is making – we are enjoying a successful 2018/19 and we are in a strong position, partly as a result of recent long-term major framework wins in both England and Scotland.

“This will see significant growth in both of these divisions and we are therefore adding strength to the leadership of the company. We are very fortunate to have the dedication, commitment and passion of three such strong leaders and I would like to congratulate them and wish them the best of success in their new roles.”

John MacArthur joined Story Contracting in 2014 after spending 19 years working for Balfour Beatty.

He has more than 30 years’ experience within the civil engineering and rail sectors.

John’s role is to ensure successful delivery of up to £135m of Renewals and Enhancements projects in Scotland over the next five years, as part of Network Rail’s CP6 Framework.

He also leads the ‘Fit for Future’ strategy in Scotland, centred around business growth in both the rail and civils sectors.

John has embedded a culture focused on professionalism and collaboration in an environment which promotes employee development to meet clients’ needs.

John said: "My favourite thing about working at Story is the support from across the business to deliver for our clients, regardless of the challenges that we need to overcome.

"And we do this in a professional, collaborative manner with pride and a smile – it’s a great place to work!

“It has been both an honour and a privilege to establish and grow the Story Scotland business since joining in 2014.

"This has seen us grow from six employees to 113 in four years, delivering major projects across Scotland.

"I am really proud of my whole team and believe that we have developed an incredibly professional and collaborative culture.

“We have a very busy five years ahead of us, and although very exciting, there will no doubt be significant challenges to overcome.

"However, I am confident that we have the foundations and team to continue our success, building a sustainable business model in the years ahead, with a focus on the development of our most important resource – our people!”

Ian Purdham, managing director, Rail England

Ian joined Story Contracting 13 years ago, progressing from a plant co-ordinator to heading up the rail division’s operations in England as director.

Ian’s role is to ensure successful delivery of Network Rail’s Framework contracts in the LNW and LNE regions, specialising in PWay, earthworks structures, property, drainage and line side civils works, as well as delivering other framework contracts such as for Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), widening the company’s client base, promoting business growth and resilience through non-framework projects and future opportunity such as HS2.

Ian began climbing the ladder after spotting an internal trainee quantity surveyor role advertised, and was sponsored through completion of his degree while working for the company.

He says his progression through the company is due to a combination of training, hard work and the dedication of the business to develop its staff.

Ian has also recently completed his certificate in company direction course with The Institute of Directors.

Ian said: “It is great to see the company continue to develop and the opportunity that this creates. We have continually invested in our people and equipment which has always kept us moving forward.

"It makes me proud to be a part of this and to work with so many people with a ‘can do’ attitude.”

“I am really proud of everyone in the Rail England team who have worked extremely hard over the last few years to put us in this great position and develop our reputation, allowing us to win framework contracts of this size.

"I am delighted to be given the opportunity to lead and further grow and develop this team, continuing to create opportunity and job security for us all.

“The next five years won’t be without challenge and we will focus on continuing to ‘Do it Right’ and delivering quality while striving for innovation, efficiency and industry leading safety performance.”

Frank McFadden, rail technical assurance director

Frank joined the business in 2016 having worked in the rail industry for more than 40 years.

Previously, he held roles such as maintenance director for Network Rail Scotland, and operations director for the Edinburgh Tram Construction Project.

Frank is the chair of the operational leadership team at Story Contracting and is involved with innovation and providing railway technical assurance.

His aim is to bring consistency and synergy throughout Story Contracting and to share best practice across all divisions.

He said: "I am delighted to accept this new challenge. With the growth of Story in both Scotland and England, the focus on technical assurance is paramount for the continuing success of the business.

“Over the next five years we will carry out more complex and multidisciplinary projects that require robust assurance.

"The new assurance organisation will compliment the business and provide our customers with the necessary comfort that we are a safe pair of hands.

"I look forward to working with John and Ian in the continued growth of the company."