One of Warwickshire’s largest businesses will part company with the last member of the family that founded it next month.

Wolvey-based housing and construction experts Galliford was formed in 1916 by Thomas J Galliford, and since then has always operated with a member of the Galliford family on the board of directors.

However, at the company’s October AGM Peter Galliford, 70, will step down from his position as a non-executive director – leaving it without a Galliford for the first time ever.

Company chief executive George Marsh admits that it will be sad to see him go, but believes that he has passed on a wealth of experience in the trade.

He said:

"Peter has been the face of Galliford for 50 years, and there is nothing he does not know about the industry we are in.

"Although his father founded the company in 1916, Peter, his brother and his sister actually re-started the company after the war.

"For the last few years Peter has been a non-executive director so he has been scaling down his involvement in the day to day running of the company and he is now taking his very well earned rest."

Galliford carry out work in the housing and construction market nationwide with an annual turnover of around £200 million, and Marsh is delighted that they have continued to grow.

He said:

"In a weeks time we will be announcing our annual figures so I cannot go into too much detail before then, but we are advancing well.

"The company now employs over 1,100 people although these are not all in the Coventry and Warwickshire area."

Company founder Thomas J Galliford died in 1938, and ten years later Peter picked up the gauntlet and as managing director of the Wolvey-based company created a market leader undertaking projects such as the Coventry inner ring-road.