Wates Group has appointed a new chief financial officer (CFO) and company secretary as it unveiled a modernised new brand identitiy.

David Allen, who is currently, Crossrail’s finance director, will join Wates from 4th January 2016 succeeding current CFO and company secretary, Huw Davies, following his decade-long tenure in the position.

Under Davies’ stewardship, the financial performance of Wates has remained robust throughout some of the most challenging economic conditions the construction industry has experienced. Davies will leave Wates at the end of March 2016.

Andrew Davies, chief executive, Wates Group, said: “I would like to thank Huw for his immeasurable contribution to Wates over the past ten years, which has facilitated a robust balance sheet and the Group’s healthy and consistent profit margin.”

David Allen joined Crossrail in March 2009 from Laing O’Rourke, where he was finance director for their European Construction business.

With over twenty years’ experience in finance, Allen, who is a Chartered Accountant, joins Wates’ Board as the Group continues to roll out an ambitious growth plan to increase turnover two-fold to £2 billion, part of which is a modernised brand.

Launching the new logo amidst what the family-owned contractor dubs an ‘evolving market’, this is the first time in over ten years that Wates has undergone a brand refresh.

The Wates Group is already accelerating toward its ambitious target of increasing its turnover two-fold, with the volume of work in hand the highest it has been for five years and the order book up 50 per cent on the previous year.

Drawing on the Group’s values, vision and financial robustness, the refined brand identity will underpin this commercial success with a continued its focus on target sectors, utilising the profit generated to invest in acquisitional growth.

The new logo has been created following extensive research with customers and employees and will be gradually introduced by the company on its site hoardings and marketing collateral.

Andrew Davies added: “Wates recognises the need to constantly adapt in an increasingly evolving market and our ability to move with an ever-changing industry is a challenge that we are adept in overcoming, but one that we nevertheless must continue to embrace.

“We are reaching a critical point in our drive to strategically expand the business and renewing the brand identity was key to underpinning our plans for future growth. As custodians of a family business, it was incredibly important that we retained the heritage and equity in the Wates name but we have modernised and refined the brand mark to create a bolder, more dynamic image that is representative of the strength and values for which Wates is renowned.”