Ogilvie Construction News
Company news and updates

The £24.038m project will see 90 Passivhaus homes built on the site of the old Newbattle High School in Easthouses.

Contractor Ogilvie Construction is building a mixture of flats, houses and bungalows on behalf of the council.

The 90 properties will be among 207 council homes across Midlothian, all designed to the demanding Passivhaus Standard. The buildings retain heat from the sun and require very little additional heating or cooling.

Midlothian Council’s Cabinet Member for Housing, Councillor Stuart McKenzie said: “It’s really exciting to reach this key milestone.

“The homes will help tackle fuel poverty – our tenants will have life-long low heating bills – while helping us towards our net zero ambitions and we’re really proud of that.

“We’re looking forward to working with Ogilvie on this project, which will not only provide much needed affordable homes for our tenants, but will also bring wider community benefits during the construction phase.”

Grier Edmead, Operations Director, Ogilvie Construction, said: “We look forward to working with the team at Midlothian Council over the next two years to deliver modern high-quality energy efficient homes that will serve the community for many years to come. We will liaise with the community throughout the build programme, communicating regularly and keeping disruption to a minimum."

The work is expected to finish in 2025. 

Just short of 2,000 council homes have been built or are on site since the council launched its ambitious affordable home programme in 2006.

More than £352 million has been invested in building affordable, high-quality, sustainable, and energy-efficient council homes with a further £77.6 million committed.

As part of the 2024/25-2028/29 Strategic Housing Improvement Plan (SHIP), the council is committed to building a further 832 homes within the SHIP’s timeframe.

Pictured, left to right: Grier Edmead, Operations Director, Ogilvie Construction and Midlothian Council’s Cabinet Member for Housing, Councillor Stuart McKenzie.

Ogilvie Construction has started site operations to build a new student accommodation facility at Haymarket Yards in Edinburgh for Aurum UK.

When complete, the new facility will provide 156 high quality studio apartments. It will also include extensive internal and external amenities including study spaces, a gym, cinema and private dining facility, as well as a roof terrace and shared gardens.

Haymarket Yards is a zero-parking development with cycle parking for over 150 bikes. The building is well situated for easy access to public transport with Haymarket station and tram and bus stops nearby.

Donald MacDonald, Managing Director, Ogilvie Construction, said: “We are delighted to have started construction of this high-quality project for Aurum UK in the heart of the city. Our team has extensive experience in the student sector having successfully delivered 13 student accommodation facilities in Scotland over the last 7 years.”

Commenting on the project, Phil Johnson, Director of Who Hup’s Arum UK business said: “We are delighted to be working with Ogilvie on the delivery of Haymarket Yards. This is our first project in Scotland and adds to our growing pipeline of 1100 beds currently in development across the UK. We continue to look for opportunities to expand our footprint in the purpose-built student accommodation/living sectors.”

Ogilvie Construction has broken ground on a project to build a new residential home for children with learning disabilities and complex needs for Camphill School Aberdeen on its Murtle Estate.

The north east charity, which is based across three campuses in the West of Aberdeen, has been providing day and residential support for children and young people with complex additional support needs and learning disabilities in the region for more than 80 years. It currently supports over 100 students and is aiming to raise £10 million over 10 years to expand its capacity by 60%.

The new state of the art sustainable home will have 11 bedrooms and is expected to be completed by Autumn 2024. Alex Busch, Executive Director at Camphill School Aberdeen, said: “Many of the children and young people who come to us have struggled to thrive in mainstream education or have faced having to move to residential care hundreds of miles away from their families. In addition, we have seen a huge increase in demand for our services in recent years, so we urgently need to increase our capacity both for day and residential pupils.

Donald MacDonald, Managing Director, Ogilvie Construction, added: “We are delighted to get site operations under way on such a valuable asset to the community. We look forward to handing over a high-quality sustainable facility next year that will meet the needs of residents for many years to come.”

Ogilvie Construction has been recognised for outstanding commitment to health and safety excellence with the RoSPA Presidents Award, which is only given to companies who achieve 10 consecutive annual RoSPA Gold awards.

The unique accolade is recognition for Ogilvie’s dedication to ensuring that its staff get home safely at the end of every working day.

The RoSPA Health and Safety Awards is the largest occupational health and safety awards programme in the UK. Now into its 67th year, the Awards have almost 2,000 entries every year, covering nearly 50 countries and a reach of over seven million employees. The programme recognises organisations’ commitment to continuous improvement in the prevention of accidents and ill health at work, looking at entrants’ overarching health and safety management systems, including practices such as leadership and workforce involvement.

Donald MacDonald, Managing Director, Ogilvie Construction, said: “We are delighted to have won his award, now for the 10th year in a row. It is recognition for the dedication and hard work of everyone in the business in maintaining the highest standards of health and safety across our operations. Every day we put safety at the heart of everything that we do.”

Julia Small, RoSPA’s Achievements Director, said: “Accidents at work and work-related ill health don’t just have huge financial implications or cause major disruption – they significantly impact an individual’s quality of life. That’s why good safety performance deserves to be recognised and rewarded.

“We are thrilled that Ogilvie Construction has won a RoSPA Award and would like to congratulate them on showing an unwavering commitment to keeping their employees, clients and customers safe from accidental harm and injury.”

The RoSPA Awards scheme is the longest running of its kind in the UK, and receives entries from organisations across the globe, making it one of the most sought-after achievement awards for the health and safety industry.

While most awards are non-competitive – recognising individual organisations’ achievements – competitive awards are presented in 20 industry sectors and for specialist areas of health and safety management.

Press Release

A major programme of works to transform an office building in the heart of Edinburgh’s Exchange District has commenced. 

Set to become Edinburgh’s newest and greenest office development, 30 Semple Street will deliver 57,000 sq ft of much-needed Grade A office accommodation when it completes in May 2024.

• 30 Semple Street is targeting to become Edinburgh’s greenest office development
• It will provide 57,000 sq ft of the highest specification office accommodation following its complete transformation
• Works include adding additional floors, new roof terraces and a new contemporary facade
• Situated in a rarely available location in Edinburgh’s premier financial district
• Exceptional sustainability credentials, including being the first office building in Scotland to achieve a targeted BREEAM ‘Outstanding’ rating

Acting on behalf of CBRE Investment Management (CBREIM), Edinburgh’s leading development management consultancy Corran Properties has appointed Ogilvie Construction to undertake the project.  

Designed by Michael Laird Architects, the existing building (formerly known as Excel House) will be stripped back to its frame before two new floors are added as well as a stunning new 360⁰ contemporary façade.

The building has large and flexible floorplates, ranging from 6,867 sq ft – 8,040 sq ft across eight levels, all with an abundance of natural light and openable windows, and a new raised roof terrace with unimpeded views of Edinburgh Castle and the Edinburgh skyline.

The development is targeted to be the first in Scotland to achieve the highest BREEAM ‘Outstanding’ rating. It is also the first office development in Scotland to be awarded the new NABERS UK design accreditation for its environmental performance, and the first to secure Air Rated’s coveted ‘Platinum’ accreditation which measures indoor air quality.  With sustainability embedded in the project from the outset, the building will achieve Net Zero Carbon operational status in accordance with the UK Green Building Council’s framework definition.

30 Semple Street provides several outstanding wellbeing amenities for occupiers including 85 bike spaces, stylish changing and showering facilities and on-site charging facilities for those arriving by electric vehicle. It also benefits from being situated in a unique location, in both the city centre close to Edinburgh’s premier attractions and world class transport links, and in a prime position in the city’s thriving Exchange District.

Nick Ball, Managing Director of Corran Properties commented: “We were delighted to be appointed by CBREIM in 2020 to undertake this transformational development. I hope we have re-paid their faith with the exceptional quality that is now being delivered. Office design is moving towards a more sustainable future so from the outset the focus has been to achieve the highest environmental goals possible, and this has resulted in a number of firsts for 30 Semple Street. 

“To achieve the leading sustainability credentials alongside the outstanding facilities for staff and flexible, modern workspace we’re delivering for 30 Semple Street, the solution in the past would have been to demolish and start again. However, by retaining the original structure, we’ve saved 3,300 tons of CO2, more than 50% of the carbon in reconstruction. The new building will operate with net zero carbon emissions and sets a very high new benchmark, not only in Edinburgh but further afield too.”

Alix Mills, Senior Director at CBRE Investment Management, added: “The current demand for high quality Grade A office space in Edinburgh gave us the confidence to invest in a significant redevelopment project at 30 Semple Street. We are excited by the plans that align with CBREIM’s ESG ambitions and look forward to seeing the new and improved building take shape as the works progress.”

As well as Ogilvie Construction and Michael Laird Architects, the experienced project team includes mechanical and electrical engineering consultancy KJ Tait, project management and cost consultancy Axiom Project Services, structural and civil engineering consultancy Blyth & Blyth and Atelier Ten as fire engineering consultants. CuthbertWhite and Knight Frank have been appointed as letting agents.

Chris Cuthbert from CuthbertWhite said: “When it completes in May 2024, 30 Semple Street will be the best accredited building in Edinburgh’s office market, at a time when prime Grade A office space is in short supply. The building has stature, prominence and is in a truly enviable location. We know that occupiers are becoming more discerning with their requirements and expect something more, particularly when attracting their staff to the office. 30 Semple Street has been exceptionally well conceived from a design point of view, raising the bar across Scotland.”

Toby Withall from Knight Frank added: “Edinburgh currently has a severe supply shortage with no new office development under construction that isn’t already pre-let. 30 Semple Street will undoubtedly capitalise on this lack of supply and the building’s strong environmental credentials, flexible floorplates and rarely available location in the Exchange, will ensure it attracts a great deal of interest from occupiers with active requirements.”

Press Release

Annabelle Ewing, MSP for Cowdenbeath, Fife, visited Cardenden to see a newly completed development of 59 affordable homes handed over to Kingdom Housing Association by Ogilvie Construction.

The houses have been built in Balgonie Grove, on the former mining site behind Jamphlars Court, and offer a mix of two, three, four and five-bedroom homes. They have been designed with current and future needs of residents in mind and include wheelchair accessible bungalows.

All the properties have achieved Secured by Design standard and meet the Housing for Varying Needs, Building Control’s Silver Standard specification, as well as the Association’s own Design Standards. The new homes are highly energy efficient with a B rating.

Annabelle Ewing said: “I was delighted to be shown round the new Kingdom Housing development in Cardenden last Friday.  59 new affordable homes have been built to a very high specification with good design, energy efficiency and safe spaces the key priorities.  Very well done to Kingdom Housing Association and Ogilvie Construction for creating homes people will enjoy living in.”

Kingdom Group Chief Executive, Bill Banks, said:

“The development at Balgonie Grove in Cardenden is on the site of a former colliery and railway siding and it’s great to see such a diverse range of affordable housing breathe new life into the area. The fantastic mix of homes delivered by Ogilvie Construction are not only safe and secure, but are highly energy-efficient too. At a time when energy costs are rising, having a modern home that is warm, well-insulated, and affordable to heat can make all the difference to our tenants and their families.”

Donald MacDonald, Manging Director, Ogilvie Construction, said:
“We are proud to have successfully delivered this project for Kingdom Housing Association. Their tenants can look forward to living in bespoke designed living spaces in energy efficient homes built from high quality sustainable materials. Our team worked collaboratively with Kingdom throughout the build programme, working together to overcome the challenges associated with the pandemic.”

Our commitment to employee learning and development has been recognised with the award of gold membership of the 5% Club, the organisation that works with UK employers to inspire increased workplace learning.

 The award is given to companies who are accredited by audit that more than 5% of their workforce are participating in “earn and learn” schemes such as Apprenticeships, Graduate Schemes, and Sponsored Student Course Placements.

Donald MacDonald, Managing Director, Ogilvie Construction, said:
“We are delighted that our commitment to employee development has been recognised by the 5% Club.  We have always invested in giving our staff the opportunity to grow their skills, knowledge and experience and continue to offer a range of opportunities for them to achieve their ambitions. Society depends upon a successful economy and we take seriously our responsibility as an employer to contribute to the future development of skills to drive economic growth.”

Mark Cameron OBE, Chief Executive at the 5% Club said, “Our Employer Audit scheme recognises the efforts of all those Employers who invest in their workforce through a broad range of workplace learning schemes. It is fantastic that in these challenging times so many are able to commit to the Employer Audit and to gain the credit for their efforts, and that the majority are striving to expand their schemes over the coming years. Their efforts and achievements are to be applauded.”

Ogilvie Construction is part of the Ogilvie Group, one of Scotland’s most consistently successful family-owned businesses.  The company is over 65 years old and employs 600 people across its various business operations in the UK.

Almost 100 new Gold Standard council houses finished

Work has totally finished and tenants are moving into a development of new council flats which are part of a programme building 2,000 new council houses across Aberdeen. The development at Auchmill near Bucksburn is one of nine sites across the city where Aberdeen City Council is building new council houses – the only council in Scotland to be building new council houses on this scale and to the Gold Standard. 

The Auchmill development will provide 92 homes including a mixture of two to eight people flats and wheelchair-designed flats. The major project which is providing council homes across the city is one of several sites across Aberdeen which form part of the wider Aberdeen City Council’s housing programme aiming to address a long-term shortage of affordable social rented housing in the city.

The homes at Auchmill, with Ogilvie Construction as main contractor, are designed to a Gold Standard level of energy efficiency throughout and low maintenance external amenity spaces as well as creation of a new ramp to the A96 which will provide safer access and support more walking, cycling, and wheeling through Active Travel.

The design specification for Gold Standard requires energy efficient technologies that make homes greener and cheaper to run, enhanced sound transference, and increased natural light.

“These new homes will not only be energy efficient but also low maintenance and built to an extremely high quality in the industry-recognised Gold Standard.”

Aberdeen City Council Co-Leader Councillor Ian Yuill said: “These new homes are designed to help meet the areas of greatest demand for council homes, including for families, single people, and wheelchair-friendly.

“I am delighted that high quality council homes of differing sizes suitable for a range of tenants will help make a real positive difference to the lives of residents.”

Donald MacDonald, Managing Director, Ogilvie Construction, said: “We are proud to have built these high-quality homes for Aberdeen City Council. Residents will enjoy the benefits of innovative, modern living space built to meet their needs and incorporating effective energy efficient designs.”

The vision of Aberdeen City Council’s new housing programme is to create sustainable integrated communities and places by delivering affordable homes designed for life which meet residents’ current and changing needs, while supporting the wellbeing and resilience of tenants.

They will meet the most demand for council properties including flats for single people, flats for families, terraced houses, wheelchair-friendly properties, and a small number of amenity bungalows. They are being designed for exacting standards including housing for various needs, dementia friendly, low carbon, low maintenance, and to meet the Gold Standard.

Ogilvie Construction has been appointed to public sector development partner Hub South East Scotland’s new Tier 1B Construction Contractor Supply Chain.

We were chosen after a robust selection process which included representatives from the Hub’s public sector clients and Scottish Futures Trust.

The new Tier 1B supply chain will augment Hub’s existing supply chain frameworks with a primary focus on domestic scale / residential construction of affordable housing, social and dementia care homes / care villages, crisis response and complex care.

Paul McGirk, Hub South East’s Chief Executive, said:

“We are delighted to have appointed Ogilvie Construction to our supply chain. Ogilvie is a well-respected contractor with experience in other Hubs across Scotland, and importantly has demonstrated a commitment to our shared values and partnership ethos. We look forward to working with the team on future projects.

“Relationships with our supply chain members are fundamental to Hub South East’s continued success and I am confident that this new appointment will be an excellent addition to our already strong offering, helping us to achieve our aim of being the development partner of choice for our public sector clients.”

Donald MacDonald, Managing Director, Ogilvie Construction, said:

“We are delighted to have joined Hub South East Scotland’s supply chain and look forward to working with them to deliver high quality buildings that will benefit communities for many years to come.  Our teams have extensive experience in building a wide range of public infrastructure.”

Ogilvie is currently on the supply chain with Hub North, Hub East Central and Hub South West. Earlier this month, the company was also successful in winning a place on the £500 million LHC New Build Construction H2 Framework operated by the Scottish Procurement Alliance.

Ogilvie Construction has promoted three of its senior management team to positions on its board as part of a strategy for continued growth across Scotland.

 David Arundel, David Mason and Grier Edmead have taken up their new roles with immediate effect.

Senior Commercial Manager, David Arundel, has been with the company for 15 years and becomes Commercial Director covering all areas of the country. Senior Operations Manager, Grier Edmead, becomes Operations Director with responsibility for delivery of projects in Central Scotland. David Mason joined the company last year as Operations Manager based in Aberdeen. He becomes Operations Director covering Tayside and the North of Scotland.

Donald MacDonald, Managing Director, Ogilvie Construction, said:

“We are delighted to make these promotions, recognising the valuable contributions that David, David and Grier have made to the continued success of the business. They will play an important part in driving the business forward and delivering the highest standards of quality across all of our operations.”

Ogilvie Construction is part of the Ogilvie Group, one of Scotland’s most consistently successful family-owned businesses.  The company is over 65 years old and employs 600 people across its various business operations in the UK.

Pictured left to right: Grier Edmead, David Arundel, David Mason.