DITT Construction

What DITT Construction does

DITT Construction Ltd is a vertically integrated construction, manufacturing and building-supply business headquartered in Lerwick, Shetland. Founded in the early-to-mid 1970s and now operating as a 100% Employee Ownership Trust (since 24 May 2024), it is self-described as the largest construction company in Shetland, employing close to 100 personnel and generating approximately £8 million in annual turnover. The company delivers a full spectrum of construction services across the Shetland isles — major landmark civic, healthcare, education, port and airport projects; civil engineering and refurbishment (including heritage work on the 400-year-old Lerwick Tollbooth); social and private housing design-and-build; and minor domestic works — under an Integrated Management System certified to ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015 and ISO 45001:2018.

Its operating model combines on-site construction delivery with a co-located builders merchants selling materials to trade and retail customers, and an in-house joinery workshop that manufactures the proprietary 'Shetland Standard' garden shed and Polyshed ranges plus timber-frame house kits, staircases and fittings. Customer base spans Shetland Islands Council, NHS Shetland, Hjaltland Housing Association, BP Exploration, Enquest, Lerwick Port Authority, Maritime & Coastguard Agency, RNLI, Shetland Arts Trust and Shetland Amenity Trust. The company also sells serviced residential building plots and self-developed private housing, including the 29-property Hogalee scheme in Scalloway.

Revenue is generated through tendered fixed-price major contracts, recurring social housing design-and-build commissions, oil-and-gas civils work at Sullom Voe, retail and trade builders merchants sales, manufactured product sales (sheds, Polysheds, house kits), speculative private housing sales and serviced plot sales. In November 2024 the company received approximately £926,790 of investment from the Scottish National Investment Bank, the first disclosed institutional capital injection in its history.

Name

DITT Construction

Legal name

DITT Construction Ltd

Website

https://ditt-shetland.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1982

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

DITT Construction Ltd is the largest construction company in Shetland, delivering major contracts, social and private housing, civil engineering and refurbishment across the isles. It operates a vertically integrated model combining on-site construction, a builders merchants and an in-house joinery workshop producing house kits and the Shetland Standard shed range.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Construction Services

NAICS

Nonresidential Building Construction (2362), Residential Building Construction (23611), Commercial and Institutional Building Construction (236220), New Multifamily Housing Construction (except For-Sale Builders) (236116)

SIC

General Bldg Contractors - Nonresidential Bldgs (1540), Heavy Construction Other Than Bldg Const - Contractors (1600), Prefabricated Wood Bldgs & Components (2452)

akta.pro primary industry

Office & Corporate Building Construction (IMAFACAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Multi-Family Residential Construction (Apartments, Condos, Townhomes) (IMAFABAB), Spec Home / Production Homebuilding (Tract & Volume Builders) (IMAFABAD), Residential Modular & Prefabricated Home Construction (IMAFABAF)

Keywords

• General construction services
• Civil engineering contracting
• Timber frame house kits
• Builders merchants supply
• Social housing construction

Headquarters

HQ city

Lerwick

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Major Construction Contracts: One-time, fixed-price construction contracts for public and private clients (e.g., £10.5M Mareel, £9M Clickimin Pool, £6.5M Shetland Museum, £6M Eric Gray @ Seafield, £5.5M Scatsta Airport, £4M Gilbert Bain Hospital). Revenue recognised on project completion / handover.
2. Social / Affordable Housing Contracts: Recurring design-and-build and refurbishment contracts with housing associations (notably Hjaltland Housing Association) covering timber-clad houses, flats, mechanical ventilation with heat recovery, and air-source heat pump installations.
3. Builders Merchants (Retail and Trade): On-site builders merchants operation selling timber, cement, tools, plasterboard, windows, doors, insulation, plumbing, radiators, gardening tools, key cutting, and timber cutting services to both retail and trade customers at competitive prices.
4. Private Speculative Housing Development Sales: Self-developed private residential properties sold on the open market (e.g., Hogalee 29-property scheme, Wormadale 3-property scheme, Green Holm & Vassa Blue at South Nesting).
5. Serviced House Site Sales: Sale of fully serviced residential building plots with planning permission (e.g., 4 x Gulberwick sites offered over £50,000 each), enabling third-party builders to develop.
6. Manufactured Products (House Kits, Sheds, Polycrubs): Manufacture and supply of timber-frame house kits, Shetland Standard garden sheds (8'x6' / 10'x8'), and Polysheds, either fully erected, flat-pack, or materials-only to customer specification.
7. Minor Works and Maintenance: Small-scale jobs including window installation, domestic extensions, sheds, and maintenance/refurbishment contracts.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

DITT Construction Ltd is a vertically integrated Shetland-based construction company delivering major and minor construction contracts (civic, healthcare, cultural, social housing, commercial, industrial and domestic works), civil engineering and refurbishment, in-house manufactured timber-frame house kits and the proprietary "Shetland Standard" garden shed and Polyshed range, plus a builders merchants operation supplying DIY and trade building materials. The company self-delivers design-and-build private residential developments and serviced building plots, and operates an Integrated Management System certified to ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015 and ISO 45001:2018.

Product overview

DITT Construction Ltd is a single integrated construction company (not a software platform) with a portfolio of related construction, manufacturing, and supply offerings rather than separate platform modules. Its core offering is construction services, delivered through the Major Contracts division (landmark civic, health, cultural, and infrastructure builds), the Minor Works division (small-scale jobs, domestic extensions, sheds), and in-house Civil Engineering & Refurbishment expertise. Vertically integrated operations include House Kits (timber-frame panels manufactured in DITT's joinery workshop), Sheds and Polycrubs (the proprietary 'Shetland Standard' Garden Shed range), and a Builders Merchants / DIY Supplies operation at the Lerwick premises supplying retail and trade customers. The company's regular client base spans Shetland Islands Council, Hjaltland Housing Association Ltd, NHS Shetland, BP Exploration, Enquest, Royal National Lifeboat Institution, Lerwick Port Authority, and others. In May 2024 the company transferred its entire shareholding to an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Shetland Standard: DITT's proprietary line of garden sheds (and polysheds) manufactured in their joinery workshop, uniquely built to withstand the Shetland climate; standard sizes 8' x 6' and 10' x 8', available fully erected or flat pack.

Products and services

• Major Contracts Large-scale landmark construction contracts for civic, health, cultural, port, airport and infrastructure projects across Shetland, delivered for public-sector, housing association, oil & gas and cultural trust clients.
• Minor Works Smaller-scale construction works ranging from installing a new window and building sheds through to domestic extensions, plus maintenance and refurbishment contracts for private and public clients.
• House Kits Timber-frame house kit panels manufactured in DITT's dedicated joinery workshop, supplied as full-service build, supply-and-erect, kit-only or materials-only for self-builders and developers in Shetland.
• Sheds and Polycrubs Manufacture and supply of the proprietary "Shetland Standard" Garden Shed (standard 8'x6' and 10'x8', fully erected or flat pack) and bespoke "Shetland Standard" Polyshed / polycrub growing structures, made to customer specification in DITT's joinery workshop.
• Builders Merchants / DIY Supplies On-site builders merchants operation at the Lerwick premises selling timber, cement, tools, plasterboard, windows, doors, fencing, insulation, plumbing products, radiators, gardening tools and equipment to retail and trade customers, with timber cutting, key cutting and special-order supply including Hepworth/Marley, Nor-Dan, Velux, Decra and Finewood brands.
• Civil Engineering & Refurbishment Civil engineering, large-scale civic and health project delivery, social housing schemes, private developments, maintenance, refurbishment and heritage restoration (including the 400-year-old Lerwick Tollbooth) for public, housing association and private clients.
• Private Speculative Housing Development Design-and-build private residential developments sold on the open market to individual buyers in Shetland, including the Hogalee scheme in Scalloway, Wormadale and Green Holm & Vassa Blue at South Nesting.
• Serviced Building Plot Sales Sale of fully serviced residential building plots with planning permission to private buyers in Shetland (e.g. 4 x Gulberwick sites offered over £50,000 each), enabling third-party self-builds and custom homes.

Quantifiable outcome

• Annual turnover of approximately £8 million (as stated in About Us revision dated 09.04.24)
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Federation of Master Builders (FMB)coreOthersDITT is a member of the Federation of Master Builders, the largest trade association in the UK building industry. DITT has won multiple FMB awards through this membership (Builder of the Year 2005, Energy Efficiency Scotland 2011, Scotland Commercial 2012).
• National House Building Council (NHBC)coreOthersDITT is an NHBC Registered Builder and member of the world's leading warranty and insurance provider for new homes. NHBC registration supports the company's social and private housing developments.
• Shetland Building and Allied Trades Association (SBATA)minorOthersDITT is a member of SBATA, a local industry body for Shetland's building trades.
• Shetland Construction Training Group (SCTG)minorOthersDITT is a member of SCTG, supporting local construction training and skills development in Shetland.
• Construction Industry Training Board (CITB)coreOthersDITT engages with CITB, the statutory body helping to provide a fully trained and skilled workforce for the UK construction industry. CITB partnership supports DITT's apprenticeship and workforce training pipeline.
• OFTECminorOthersDITT is registered/associated with OFTEC, the Oil Firing Technical Association, for compliance on oil-fired heating installations.
• Construction Quality Improvement Collaborative (CQIC)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDITT is listed as a CQIC committed organisation supporting the initiative and drive to change the culture around construction quality.
• PJP ArchitectsminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerPJP Architects credited as the design partner on multiple DITT housing projects including the King Harald Street flats and Sandveien council housing.
• Hjaltland Housing Association LimitedcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLong-standing repeat client relationship; DITT has delivered multiple major social housing schemes for HHA across Lerwick and Shetland including King Harald Street, Heathery Park Gulberwick, Endavoe Scalloway, Burnbank & Hillgrind, and Staney Hill/North Road.
• BP ExplorationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRepeat industrial client for civil and terminal works; BP and Enquest have praised DITT's excellent HSE performance and ability to introduce innovative safety methods. Site Engineer role at Sullom Voe Terminal.
• EnquestcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRepeat industrial client (Alex Stout is Contract Manager, EnQuest Civils); supports EnQuest operations including the Aurora project at Sullom Voe.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Bancon Group: Aberdeen-based construction and housebuilding group operating across the north of Scotland. Comparable to DITT as a regional Scottish contractor combining housebuilding, commercial construction and timber-frame capability at similar scale.
• Springfield Properties: Scottish homebuilder and contractor with significant affordable-housing and private-housing operations. Comparable to DITT's combination of speculative private development and design-and-build housing association work in Scotland.
• McTaggart Construction: Northern Ireland housebuilder and contractor with similar vertical integration including in-house timber-frame manufacturing. Comparable to DITT on regional contracting, residential development and prefabricated house-kit production.

Broad incumbents

• Robertson Group: One of the largest family-owned construction, infrastructure and support-services businesses in Scotland, operating across commercial build, civil engineering, residential development and facilities management. Broader scale and reach than DITT but directly comparable in Scottish contracting markets.
• Morrison Construction (Galliford Try): Scottish arm of Galliford Try, delivering major infrastructure, commercial and public-sector builds across Scotland. A larger incumbent that DITT has historically competed against for landmark Shetland contracts such as Clickimin and the Shetland Museum.
• Graham Construction: UK and Ireland contractor delivering civil engineering, commercial build and fit-out across the public and private sectors. Comparable as a contracting peer in building and civils, with broader geographic reach than DITT.
• Keepmoat Homes: UK regional housebuilder focused on private and partnership housing across the Midlands, Yorkshire and Scotland. Comparable to DITT's design-and-build housing association and speculative private development activity, though at significantly greater scale.
• McLaughlin & Harvey: Northern Ireland-headquartered construction and civil engineering contractor delivering commercial, healthcare, education and infrastructure projects across the UK and Ireland. Comparable as a regional contracting peer with similar public-sector client profile.

Others

• Travis Perkins: UK's largest builders merchants, supplying timber, building materials and tools to trade and retail customers. Comparable to DITT's builders merchants division as a channel/peer in building-products distribution, though operating nationally with far greater scale.
• Howdens Joinery: UK manufacturer and supplier of joinery products and kitchens, selling through a depot network to trade customers. Comparable to DITT's in-house joinery workshop and direct-to-trade building-products supply model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/pages/DITT-Construction-Ltd/196079020422499
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ditt-construction-ltd

Compliance6 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about DITT Construction