New Chief Operating Officer for Cardo Group
Cardo Group has appointed Jane Nelson as its Chief Operating Officer, formalising her strategic role within the business.
The Group, which delivers sector-leading property services and retrofit solutions for the social housing sector in England and Wales, has brought together quality, trusted regional companies under one group to offer the best of local delivery and national scale.
Jane is one of the most well-known figures in the sector, with a career spanning over 35 years in building maintenance for the housing sector, and three non-executive appointments.
Jane started her career as a trainee painter and decorator and went on to get an MSc in Construction Refurbishment Management from University College London. After seven years working on the tools, she quickly climbed the ranks, becoming a Managing Director at Kier Group, and going on to lead joint ventures between the firm and the London Borough of Islington and Harlow District Council.
After Kier, Jane joined the Mears Group as Executive Director responsible for innovative delivery models. She is recognised as a main architect of the wholly owned subsidiary model in social housing building maintenance.
Jane co-founded Cardo Group with Liam Bevan in May 2023 and has worked with Liam to create the £150m+ company that includes over 800 staff working for the group and in people’s homes.
Jane said: “I feel privileged to help lead such a dynamic and fast-growing company as the Cardo Group. My whole career has been dedicated to delivering industry-leading building maintenance services to housing providers.
“We believe that residents should have homes where they are proud to live and feel safe and secure. Our commitment is to work in partnership with landlords to deliver the repairs and improved homes that are needed, when they are promised, and to treat people with the care and respect they deserve in and around their homes.”
Jane is also renowned for championing women’s roles in construction. Inside Housing Judges identified Jane as one of their 20 ‘extraordinary women’ of 2020. Her work has also been formally recognised with both a lifetime achievement award and an inspirational leader award at the Women in Construction Awards.
Jane, working with Liam and the rest of the team, has plans to see the Cardo Group deliver a national footprint and is forecasting revenues will top £250m in the next 3 years.
Liam Bevan, CEO at Cardo, added: “This is an exciting time for Cardo as we expand our business throughout the UK and draw on the huge amount of experience, we have across the group to make improvements to how services are delivered across social housing. Jane’s inspirational leadership and innovative thinking will be vital to us as we develop our ambitious plans to deliver exemplary service for our clients. Formalising Jane’s leading role within the company is well deserved and the whole team is looking forward to working with her to cement Cardo’s commanding role within the sector.”
The Cardo Group’s roots were first established in 2012 by the group’s platform company, LCB, which offers building maintenance services to social housing providers and public bodies in South Wales and South West England. Alongside significant organic growth, the group has increased its footprint with the acquisition of Jefferies Contractors in the Midlands and Osborne Property Services, now Cardo (South), in South East England. Last month, Cardiff-based building refurbishment and decorating specialist A&N Lewis also joined the group.