Major archaeologist company set to open first Yorkshire office

One of the largest privately-owned archaeology companies in Europe, Headland Archaeology, is opening an office in Yorkshire for the first time.

Over the last year, the company has seen significant growth which included securing £4.5m in new business across its existing office network, and is aiming to keep this momentum building by launching a new base in Leeds.

Operating out of Beeston will now allow the company to provide its services across the whole of the UK, given its other offices are based in Edinburgh, Luton and Hereford.

As well as providing a full contracting service delivering client-focussed archaeology, the Leeds office will also build upon the company’s existing geophysics capability to become its UK geophysics hub.

With a team of dedicated geophysicists, the Leeds operation will also have access to the latest equipment and support from a 60-strong UK contracting team.

Headland has already seen substantial growth this past year, and has subsequently as it hired 40 new employees across its offices in Edinburgh, Hereford and Luton, taking its total headcount to 95.

Over the past twelve months, the company has worked on more than 300 projects. These include the £3m worth of advance archaeological works for the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route, enabling and during construction works on the Stafford-West Coast mainline, a project worth £250k. The company is also working on Clyde Windfarm, the largest windfarm in Europe, Furness Abbey and Hereford Cathedral, as well as Drax Power Station and the Ireland-France Interconnector.

Tim Holden, managing director at Headland Archaeology, said: “From looking at our existing office network, there was a clear geographical gap in the North of England. Leeds was a natural choice for a number of reasons, namely it is supported by a good road network and we’re confident we’ll have access to a strong talent pool when we come to strengthen our team further. Our industry has changed considerably in the last five years – a number of archaeologists have left the sector, while some companies have fallen victim of the recession and others have merged or been taken over. We have weathered the storm well in comparison and used the quieter time wisely to ensure we are now in a great position to take advantage of the economic upturn and expand our business.

“We are pioneering in our sector when it comes to product and service development and our ambition to create a geophysics hub is testament to this. This will be of huge benefit to our clients and will help us remove the commonly encountered geophysics pinch-points that many clients will have experienced in spring and late summer. Our aim is to provide a ‘best in sector’ service that helps clients to identify archaeological issues at the preliminary stages of a project to help remove last-minute surprises that can potentially cost both money and time.

“Our pragmatic and professional approach combined with essential local knowledge and expertise has won us multiple awards and an industry leading reputation for delivering on time, but more so on budget. I look forward to building our client base from our new Yorkshire operation.”

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