About FF Construction
FF Construction — commercial builders in Oxford since 2006
Owned and run by the two directors who started it. Ninety-two people on our own books, working within about 40 miles of the city.
- Founded
- 2006, in Oxford
- Head office
- Unit 4, Osney Mead, Oxford OX2 0ES
- Directly employed
- 92 people, including site management and trades
- Coverage
- Oxfordshire and the Thames Valley
- Accredited
- ISO 9001 · 14001 · 45001 · CHAS · Constructionline Gold
In short
FF Construction Ltd is a commercial construction and property services contractor based in Oxford, founded in 2006 and owned by its two working directors.
FF Construction delivers design and build, refurbishment and new build projects across Oxfordshire and the Thames Valley, working within about 40 miles of Oxford for commercial developers, landlords, healthcare practices, retailers and estates teams.
The company employs 92 people directly, including its own site managers and trades, and holds ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 certification. Contract values typically run from £50,000 to £6m.
Our story
Twenty years, one office
Two carpenters, a van and a single-storey extension in Botley. The order book has changed a great deal since; the way we price and run a job has not.
- 2006
Founded in Oxford
Ian Whitcombe and Marcus Hale start FF Construction with domestic extensions and small refurbishments across the city.
- 2009
First commercial contract
A four-unit retail terrace at St Ebbe’s. Commercial work overtakes domestic within two years and becomes the whole business.
- 2013
Osney Mead and the first employed teams
The company moves to its current head office and brings carpenters, bricklayers and site managers onto its own payroll rather than hiring agency labour.
- 2017
ISO certification and the first £1m contract
ISO 9001 and 14001 awarded, followed by 45001. Turnover passes £8m.
- 2021
First design and build appointment
A 4,600 sqm laboratory and office building at Osney Mead Innovation Quarter, taken on a two-stage tender. Design and build is now about half of all work.
- 2024
Rail and infrastructure
Platform works and station access improvements at Botley Road Interchange, delivered across eighteen months of night possessions.
- Established
- 2006Established
- Projects completed
- 640+Projects completed
- Repeat business
- 78%Repeat business
- Directly employed
- 92Directly employed
- Annual turnover
- £24mAnnual turnover
- Days RIDDOR-free
- 1,340Days RIDDOR-free
Leadership
The people who run the work
One of the directors visits every live site weekly. You get their mobile numbers at the pre-start meeting.
Ian Whitcombe
Managing Director
Co-founded the company in 2006. A joiner by trade, now responsible for the order book and every price that leaves the office.
Marcus Hale
Construction Director
Co-founder. Runs delivery across all live sites, and has personally managed the commercial and healthcare work since 2011.
Priya Nayar
Pre-Construction Manager
Leads two-stage tenders and design coordination. Joined in 2015 from a Thames Valley main contractor.
Daniel Okoro
Commercial Manager
Handles cost planning, variations and final accounts. Fifteen years in commercial management, eight of them here.
How we work
Four steps, and a price that holds
No charge until you have a fixed price in writing. Every job is run by a named site manager and built by teams on our own payroll.
We walk the site
Free, about an hour, with the person who would run the job. If we are the wrong contractor for it, we tell you then.
You get a fixed price
A written price against an agreed scope, usually within two weeks. It does not move unless you change what you asked for.
We build it
A named site manager on site full time, directly employed trades, and a weekly director visit.
Handover and twelve months after
O&M manuals, as-builts and certificates on the day. We come back at three months and again before the defects period closes.
What we do
Three ways we take work on
Design & Build
One contract from concept to handover, with a single team coordinating design, cost and programme.
Refurbishment
Cat A and Cat B fit out, structural alterations and services upgrades in buildings that stay open.
New Build
Groundworks to practical completion on commercial sites, from a single unit to a phased quarter.
Accreditations
What we are certified to do
Certificates and our current insurance schedule are available on request, usually the same day.
- ISO 9001
- Certifies our quality management system: how a job is planned, checked and signed off, and how we deal with it when something is not right.
- ISO 14001
- Certifies environmental management — waste segregation and recovery, dust and noise control, and the way we protect watercourses and trees on site.
- ISO 45001
- Certifies occupational health and safety management, from method statements and permits through to accident reporting and site inductions.
- Constructionline Gold
- Independently verifies our finances, insurances, health and safety record and equality policies against the standard used by public sector buyers.
- CHAS
- Confirms we meet the Common Assessment Standard for health and safety competence, so principal contractors can appoint us without a fresh audit.
- SafeContractor
- Annual third-party assessment of our safety policies, training records and risk assessments across every trade we employ.
- Insurance
- £10m public liability, £10m employers’ liability and £5m professional indemnity, held for our design and build work. Certificates on request.
FAQs
About the company
If yours is not here, ask us directly. You will get an answer from someone who has run the work.
Service area
Oxfordshire and an hour around it
FF Construction works within about 40 miles of Oxford. It keeps our directors on site, our supply chain local, and a site manager able to reach you the same morning. For clients we already build for, we take work further out.
- Head office
FF Construction Ltd
Unit 4, Osney Mead
Oxford OX2 0ES
United Kingdom
01865 000 000
- Office hours
Monday to Friday, 7am to 5pm.
Site teams from 7:30am.
Start a project
Talk to one of the directors
Not a sales team. Tell us what you are planning and you will get an honest answer on cost, programme and whether we are the right contractor for it.
Or call 01865 000 000, Monday to Friday, 7am to 5pm.