Managing Director Estates in England

Grounds Maintenance | Arboriculture | Winter Services

£100,000 – £150,000 + Bonus + Benefits

South East based, national remit

Reporting to the CEO.

Let's be clear about one thing up front: this is not a surveying or building estates role. "Estates" here means the green and external side grounds maintenance, arboriculture and winter services. Crews, plant, fleet and depots. If your background is building surveying, hard FM, M&E or property asset management, this isn't the one. If you have built and grown a commercial grounds, arb or winter services business, keep reading.

The Business

Our client is a PE-backed national provider of external property services, operating across thousands of sites in the UK. The group has a clear, funded plan to double in size organically and through acquisition. The Estates Division is the largest part of that business, bringing together grounds maintenance, arboriculture and winter services under one leadership. It is an established, profitable operation with directly employed teams, and it now needs someone to take it to the next stage.

The Role

You will own the division outright full P&L, strategy, operations and people reporting directly to the CEO and sitting on the group senior leadership team. The mandate is growth. Not caretaking.

• Own and grow the divisional P&L, improving both revenue and EBITDA
• Build the operating model and leadership team capable of supporting a business twice the size
• Win new work in competitive markets and deepen existing client relationships
• Drive productivity across a dispersed, seasonal, plant-and-fleet operation
• Support acquisitions — identification, diligence and integration
• Champion the technology and data that make service delivery smarter

Who We Are Looking For

You are running, or have run, a commercial contracting business in grounds maintenance, landscaping, arboriculture, forestry, vegetation management or winter services or a division of one. You will bring:

• Full P&L ownership of a business or division, ideally in the £10m–£40m range
• A genuine growth record — revenue and margin you have moved, in competitive markets, with the numbers to prove it
• Self-delivery experience — directly employed crews, plant, vehicles and depots, not just contract management
• National or multi-region operational leadership, with the seasonality that comes with this sector
• Commercial credibility with major clients, frameworks and tenders
• Comfort in a PE-backed environment, ideally with acquisition experience
• An appetite for technology — route optimisation, telematics, asset systems, operational data

Sector knowledge matters here. So does the ability to build a business. We are looking for both.

This is probably not for you if

• Your background is building surveying, chartered surveying or building estates management
• You have come through hard FM, M&E, building fabric or technical services
• You have managed grounds or arb contracts client-side, in-house or for a local authority, rather than delivering them commercially
• Your growth has come from renewals and captive customers rather than competitive wins
• You are looking for a steady divisional management role — this is a build

What is on Offer

A genuinely autonomous divisional MD role in a well-backed business with an exit horizon, a supportive executive team and a market position worth building on. Competitive base, bonus and benefits, with the total package structured for someone who will be measured on what the division becomes.

Interested? Apply here, or contact Peter Forshaw at Maxwell Stephens directly for a confidential conversation. Maxwell Stephens is the UK's leading specialist facilities and property services recruitment consultancy.