Ridge launches lift and escalator service under new partner James Fraser-Chalk

Ridge has launched a dedicated vertical transportation service for lifts and escalators, led by new partner James Fraser-Chalk, who joins the consultancy with more than 20 years' experience in the lift and escalator sector.

Fraser-Chalk joins as Partner, Vertical Transportation, and leads the new service, Ridge said.

The offer runs across the whole building lifecycle, from concept design and procurement through to handover, maintenance, modernisation and lifecycle planning. Ridge said the services include condition surveys, maintenance audits, tender support, compliance reviews and long-term asset strategies.

James Fraser-Chalk, Partner, Vertical Transportation at Ridge, said: "Yet lifts and escalators are often only considered in detail once a project is well underway or when an existing system starts to fail."

The appointment

Fraser-Chalk started his career with an engineering apprenticeship at KONE, before moving into engineering inspection and compliance with HSB Engineering Insurance Services and later into consultancy, according to Ridge.

He has advised Selfridges, JLL and Workman. At Selfridges he was responsible for the performance, compliance and modernisation of lift and escalator assets across all four of the retailer's stores.

Ridge said the new service would draw on other disciplines within the practice, because decisions on lifts and escalators have implications for fire safety, accessibility, building services design, architecture, project delivery and compliance.

"By bringing specialist expertise in-house, we can help clients make informed decisions from the earliest stages of design through to maintenance, modernisation and long-term asset planning," Fraser-Chalk said.

Other partner-level appointments

Ridge has also appointed Graham Sant as a partner to lead its engineering and environmental infrastructure services nationally.

Ridge said that infrastructure offer had been expanded over the past two years through the acquisitions of civil and structural engineering consultancy Jubb and transport planning specialist HUB.

Ridge has announced it has secured investment from CVC, which acquired its stake from Horizon Capital. CVC said Horizon had been Ridge's partner since April 2023. Luke Kingston, Managing Partner of Horizon Capital, said Horizon's investment was the first institutional capital in Ridge's 75-year history.

Adrian O'Hickey, Senior Partner at Ridge, said the CVC investment reflected what the firm's people had achieved.

Growth since 2020

Ridge said it has grown from about 800 people in 2022 to more than 1,650 across 16 UK offices, with 88% of revenue coming from repeat clients. CVC said the firm had grown revenues at a compound annual growth rate of about 23% since 2022.

In an earlier announcement, Ridge put the business at 577 people turning over £61m in 2020, rising to 1,000 employees in 2023, with a turnover forecast of £105m across 12 UK offices.

Point	Headcount
2020	577
2022	about 800
2023	1,000
Latest	more than 1,650

CVC said Ridge was founded in 1946 and is headquartered in Oxford, with services running from planning and advisory through design and engineering to programme and project management. Ridge and Partners LLP is registered at Companies House as an active limited liability partnership, number OC309402, with its registered office at Blenheim Park, Woodstock, Oxfordshire.