With a turnover of nearly £20 million and rising there is a new person in the hot seat at the head of Western Thermal Limited Group.

The Gloucestershire headquartered engineering business has announced the appointment of Christopher Garland, as its new executive director and chief executive officer.

Mr Garland joins the Stroud firm - which employs 250 staff and has worked on the likes of Wembley Stadium and Heathrow Terminal 5 - from Hertel, where he was regional director.

The business expects to see its current turnover, of £19.8 million, reach £50 million in the next three years.

It has achieved export revenue of 4.5 per cent for 2018 and "aggressively seeks" to achieve a 10 per cent year-on-year growth to target a turnover of £23 million during the next five years.

Suresh Lodha, chairman of Western Thermal Ltd, bassed at Stroudwater Business Park, Stonehouse, said: "We are absolutely delighted and excited to have Chris join the Western Thermal Group. His impressive CV matched with his charisma, dedication and determination to succeed are key attributes in this industry and made him a standout performer in his field.

"Chris has worked with some of the UK's leading companies and Western Thermal will benefit from his vast experience and insight. We are confident that Chris will be a huge success for the company and we welcome him to the Western Thermal family."

Mr Garland has worked at firms including Balfour Beatty, Royal Vopak Global and Shell Global PLC.

According to the business Mr Garland's appointment is the first key move by Western Thermal Ltd following a very successful 2018 which it secured a number of high-profile contracts in the field of construction, pipe fabrication, mechanical and other major areas of operations.

This includes the Wardian Project in Canary Wharf, Heathrow Terminal 5, Arla Foods' Aylesbury dairy, Wembley Stadium, Victoria Station, Battersea Power Station residential and the Royal Liverpool University Hospital.

"We look to pick up where we left off in 2018 by establishing Western Thermal as one of the industry's go-to companies for contracting," said Mr Lodha.