Thom Macleod, managing director of Compass Building & Construction Services and Orbis Services Limited, was presented with an Industry Excellence Award at the Highland Construction and Property Dinner.

The event – held in November at the Drumossie Hotel – is organised by the Scottish Building Federation, the Chartered Institute of Builders (CIOB) and the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).

Organiser Nicola Sweeney of Safety Training Solutions said: “The dinner aims to offer fine dining, fabulous entertainment, reflections on both the construction & property industries, as well as charity fundraising and networking opportunities amongst key players within the industry.
“The organising committee warmly congratulates Thom MacLeod on receiving this year’s Industry Excellence Award. Thom’s contribution to the construction industry is widely recognised, and we were delighted to acknowledge his achievements at this year’s dinner.”

Thom added: “I am deeply honoured to receive this award from the industry.
“It is recognition of the hard-working and dedicated team at Compass who continually deliver exceptional products and value for the people of the Highlands and Islands.
“I am proud of what we achieve in this area and in the way we do it, by training and developing our own workforce and putting people at the forefront of our goals.”

Thom’s story
Originally from Gairloch, Thom left school aged 16 and began his career in the construction industry as a building technician with Tulloch Construction in 1990.

He remained with Tulloch (latterly Rok) for 18 years, rising from technician to site manager and then contracts manager and construction manager. He became a director in the business in 2000 at the age of 26.

In March 2009, he was one of the founders of Compass Building which has since grown to have a consolidated turnover of £50 million and now directly employs 170 staff.
It has also developed a reputation for building affordable homes across many sites in the region. Compass completed its first affordable home in Stornoway in 2010/11 and reached the 1,000 milestone in August this year.

Thom is a keen supporter of skills development particularly through apprenticeships and life-long learning. This helped Compass to be recognised nationally when it became CITB SME Construction Apprentice Employer of the year in 2018.

Fundraising total
Over £21,000 was raised at the event through a charity raffle for the nominated charities:
Sophie’s Story, raising funds for Sophie Mason who was diagnosed with the rare, incurable neurological disorder Batten Disease
New Start Highland, which create positive change for people exiting homelessness or trying to move forward from a place of crisis.
Kevin Wemyss life-extending cancer treatment, as he suffers from cholangiocarcinoma, a rare and aggressive cancer with very few symptoms and survival rates amongst the worst of any cancer
Alan’s Adventures fundraising in aid of MS, with Tore man Alan Rae having already run 25 marathons because his mum Isobel is living with multiple sclerosis (MS)

This brings the total donated since the dinner began in 2012 to more than £150,000, highlighting the positive impact the event continues to have locally.