Vest Construction

What Vest Construction does

Vest Construction (legal entity LIVECO Ltd T/A VEST Construction) is a privately owned UK building and civil engineering contractor founded in 2004 and headquartered in Bishop Auckland, County Durham. The company delivers construction services across six primary sectors — historic buildings (heritage restoration and refurbishment), education (schools, colleges, universities), healthcare (NHS trusts, hospitals, health centres), commercial and industrial, retail and leisure, and social housing — exclusively within North East England between Ashington and Ripon. Revenue is generated through project-based contracts including traditional tenders, framework agreements, partnering arrangements, and design-and-build models, with disclosed project values ranging from £100k to £4.4m per commission.

The business operates as a single unified service offering rather than a productised platform. Its core capability rests on traditional construction craft, augmented by specialist heritage techniques (lime-based masonry repointing, HeliBar structural reinforcement, bat-friendly waterproof membranes) and pre-qualifications including ISO 9001/14001/45001, Constructionline, Achilles Building Confidence, and CHAS. The company maintains long-standing architect and cost-consultant relationships with Howarth Litchfield, Gardiner & Theobald, Space Architecture, Niall McLaughlin Architects, Turner & Townsend, and others that drive project referrals and co-bidding on heritage and university schemes.

The commercial model is enterprise field sales: contracts are secured through competitive tender, negotiated award, or framework call-off, targeting universities (Durham, Newcastle, Sunderland), NHS trusts, local authorities, and property developers. Annual turnover is stated as "in excess of £10m," with no external funding, private equity ownership, or institutional investment disclosed. The firm is family-controlled (Managing Director Gavin Vest, Director Joanne Vest) and employs 11–50 staff including management, skilled tradespeople, operatives, and apprentices.

Name

Vest Construction

Legal name

LIVECO Ltd

Website

https://liveco.biz

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Vest Construction is a privately owned UK building and civil engineering contractor founded in 2004, delivering heritage restoration, education, healthcare, and commercial construction projects across North East England with annual turnover in excess of £10m.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Building and Civil Engineering Contracting

NAICS

Commercial and Institutional Building Construction (236220), Nonresidential Building Construction (2362), Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction (237)

SIC

General Bldg Contractors - Nonresidential Bldgs (1540), Heavy Construction Other Than Bldg Const - Contractors (1600)

akta.pro primary industry

Office & Corporate Building Construction (IMAFACAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Government & Civic Building Construction (Courthouses, City Halls, Public Safety) (IMAFACAF), Religious & Cultural Building Construction (Places of Worship, Museums, Libraries) (IMAFACAH)

Keywords

• Building construction services
• Civil engineering contracting
• Heritage restoration services
• Commercial building refurbishment
• Design and build projects

Headquarters

HQ city

Bishop Auckland

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Construction Project Delivery: Revenue is generated through project-based construction contracts including traditional contracts, frameworks, partnering arrangements and design and build delivery models. Projects range from £100,000 to £4.4 million in contract value across various sectors including education, healthcare, heritage, commercial and retail.
2. Refurbishment and Restoration Services: Specialist heritage restoration and building refurbishment services delivered as one-off projects for clients including Durham University, Newcastle University, and various NHS trusts.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Vest Construction is a privately owned building and civil engineering contractor delivering construction, refurbishment, and heritage restoration services across North East England. The company's core offering covers six sectors — historic buildings, healthcare, education, social housing, industrial and warehouse, and commercial and retail — delivered through traditional contracts, framework agreements, partnering arrangements, and design and build projects.

Product overview

Vest Construction (LIVECO Ltd T/A) is a building and civil engineering company established in 2004, headquartered in Bishop Auckland, Co Durham. The company operates as a single unified service offering rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. Its core offering encompasses construction services across six primary sectors: Historic buildings (heritage restoration and refurbishment), Schools and nurseries, Higher education facilities, Healthcare (hospitals, hospices, health centres, nursing homes), Commercial and Industrial, and Retail and leisure. Services span traditional contracts, framework agreements, partnering arrangements, and design and build projects. The company does not offer discrete software products or technology platforms.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Historic Building Restoration and Refurbishment Restoration, refurbishment, and conservation of grade II listed buildings, heritage structures, and UNESCO World Heritage Sites using specialist techniques such as HeliBar structural crack reinforcement, lime-based masonry repointing, and bat-friendly waterproof membranes. Delivered for heritage trusts, cultural attractions, universities, and conservation organisations across North East England.
• Healthcare Construction and Refurbishment Construction, refurbishment, and extension of hospitals, hospices, health centres, nursing homes, dental surgeries, and veterinary hospitals, including neonatal units and clinical training academies. Delivered for NHS trusts and healthcare providers with DBS-checked operatives and adherence to NHS standards and infection control.
• Education Construction Services Construction and refurbishment services for schools, colleges, universities, and academies including accommodation refurbishment, laboratory conversion, cinema refurbishment, teaching space upgrades, and new build facilities. Delivered with DBS-checked employees to enable works during term times with minimal disruption to educational activities.
• Commercial and Industrial Construction Design and build, extension, refurbishment, and new build services for commercial offices, warehouses, factories, and industrial units. Delivered for property developers and commercial clients with focus on modernisation and minimising disruption to ongoing business operations.
• Retail and Leisure Construction Construction and refurbishment services for retail premises, visitor attractions, showrooms, studios, and places of worship, including shopfront and facade restoration within conservation areas.
• Social Housing Refurbishment Refurbishment of social housing properties delivered with focus on upgrading accommodation while minimising disruption to residents.

Quantifiable outcome

• Cosin's Almshouses project completed ahead of original forecasted programme
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Howarth LitchfieldcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerArchitect and Principal Designer on multiple projects including Cosin's Almshouses (£1.5m), Palace Green Library (£1.25m), Our Lady & St Bede Catholic Academy (£200k), and ASPG refurbishment works. Long-standing design partnership across heritage and education sector projects.
• Gardiner & Theobald LLPcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerProject Manager and Cost Consultant on Cosin's Almshouses project and Department of Chemistry refurbishment (£1.65m). Ongoing professional relationship across multiple university projects.
• Billingham George & PartnerssupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerStructural Engineer on Cosin's Almshouses project and Stockton shopfront refurbishment. Provides structural engineering consultancy services on heritage and commercial projects.
• Space Architecture LtdcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerArchitect on Robinson Arch refurbishment (£500k), Sunderland University Cinema (£422k), and Edinburgh/Gateway projects. Regular architectural partner on commercial and heritage projects.
• Anthony Watson Chartered ArchitectssupportingImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerArchitect on Neonatal Refurbishment project at Sunderland Royal Hospital (£670k). Healthcare sector specialist.
• Billingham George & PartnerssupportingImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerStructural engineer engaged on Stockton shopfront conservation project for structural concerns review.
• Turner & TownsendsupportingImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerProject manager on Auckland Tower (£2.5m) for The Auckland Project. Major prestige heritage project.
• Niall McLaughlin ArchitectscoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerLead architect on Auckland Tower and Visitor Centre (£2.5m). Award-winning architectural practice delivering unique design.
• Gleeds Advisory LtdsupportingImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerArchitect on Blyth Health Centre extension (£420k) for NHS Property Services.
• P+HS ArchitectssupportingImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerArchitect on Hartlepool Health Academy (£900k). Specialist healthcare architecture practice.
• NORR ConsultantssupportingImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerArchitect on Department of Chemistry refurbishment (£1.65m) at Durham University.
• CundallsupportingImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerPrincipal Designer on Department of Chemistry refurbishment (£1.65m) at Durham University.
• WSPsupportingImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerM&E consultant on Department of Chemistry refurbishment (£1.65m) at Durham University.
• Kennedy Services LtdsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerM&E contractor partner on Neonatal Refurbishment (£670k). Hospital experience specialist brought in for complex NHS M&E works.
• Newcastle University Estates OfficecoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerClient-side architect/project lead on Great North House refurbishment (£1.1m) as part of Newcastle University's decarbonisation programme.
• Nappers Chartered ArchitectssupportingImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerArchitect on 6 Newgate Street heritage shopfront restoration (£130k) for C&S Properties.
• Estates & Facilities Newcastle UniversitycoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerClient-side architect on Merz Court wet laboratory conversion (£560k). Direct client relationship.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Esh Group: North East headquartered construction and civil engineering group delivering building, civil and residential schemes for public and private clients — direct regional peer with similar sector exposure to education, healthcare and heritage.
• Robertson Group: Privately held UK construction and infrastructure group of comparable size operating across building, civil engineering and facilities management — comparable diversified contractor with public sector tilt.
• Tolent Construction: North East England-based building and civil engineering contractor of comparable size delivering commercial, education, heritage and healthcare projects — directly comparable geographic and sector overlap with Vest.

Broad incumbents

• Willmott Dixon: Major UK building contractor focused on education, healthcare, leisure and heritage with strong public sector framework position — operates at Vest's service categories but at materially larger scale.
• Sir Robert McAlpine: Established UK building and civil engineering contractor with heritage, education and healthcare portfolios — broader incumbent operating nationally across Vest's service categories.
• Wates Group: Privately held UK construction group with significant public sector framework wins in education, healthcare and heritage — broader incumbent serving similar institutional end markets.
• Kier Group: Major UK infrastructure and building contractor with public sector framework presence across education, healthcare and local authority work — broad incumbent competing for the same institutional clients.
• Galliford Try: UK building contractor delivering education, heritage and commercial projects through its Building division — broader incumbent operating at Vest's categories with national footprint.
• Bowmer + Kirkland: Larger privately held UK building contractor delivering commercial, education, heritage and mixed-use projects — similar service mix with broader geographic reach and greater capacity than Vest.
• Morgan Sindall Group: Listed UK construction and regeneration group with significant education, healthcare and heritage refurbishment activity — broader incumbent with similar end-market exposure but national scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/vest-construction-liveco-ltd

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Vest Construction