Our story

Islington-born Richard C. Gleed is admitted to the Architectural Association in November 1876, practising from 61 Chancery Lane until 1884. He then moved to the Adelaide Buildings in the City of London, where he remained for a further 6 years amongst a group of other architects and surveyors. However, unlike his counterparts, Richard C. Gleed was one of a few individuals who seized the opportunity to create a business which specialised in building and surveyor services.

• Richard C. Gleed moves to new offices in 8-9 Martin Lane in 1893, along with Arthur Herbert Belcher – a well known architect and surveyor who previously ran a thriving practice in Brunswick Square. 
• Throughout the 1890’s Richard C. Gleed fought hard to establish a agreement for a Standard Method of Measuring Quantities, with an aim to promote greater understanding and recognition for the role of the quantity surveyor.  
• Richard C. Gleed’s influence on the industry and quantity surveyor profession was unparalleled at the time. In 1890, he was admitted as Fellow of the Surveyor’s Institution (the forerunner to the RICS) and later became chairman of the Quantity Surveyor Committee in its formation in 1904. 
• In 1985, Richard C. Gleed’s son, Herbert Alexander Gleed joined the firm as an articled pupil. Two years later, his younger brother, Percival Francis Gleed articled for another firm, before joining his father and brother in the late 1890’s. 
       

• In 1902, the two brothers Herbert and Percival, took over the majority of the business – establishing a new, more modern practice under the name ‘Gleed & Belcher, Surveyors’. Once Arthur Belcher retired in 1912, the firm changed its name to ‘Gleeds Sons & Co’. 
• Between 1905 – 1910’s, the majority of the work undertaken by the firm included architectural services and production of bills and quantities for both public and private sectors - including rail, education, residential, retail and infrastructure. 

• By 1926, Gleeds was one of the largest quantity surveyor practices in the UK and had won its first contract with retail group Marks & Spencer, for which the relationship still stands today more than 100 years later.
• Richard C. Gleed died in 1928 and soon after, brothers Herbert and Percival decided the firm should acquire larger offices to match their ever-increasing portfolio. Gleeds moved to the West End and settled at 106 Regent Street.
• By 1928, Gleeds had opened their second office in Bristol – a city where only one other firm of quantity surveyors existed. Charles Crouch Southgate was recruited to head up the Bristol office on 40 Corn Street and became a partner by his mid-thirties.     

• Following World War II, the 4 offices began to expand rapidly as the local authority work increased for the rebuilding of schools and housing.
• The Bristol office started to provide considerable commercial work such as the building of the Broadmead shopping centre and Royal Hotel, Bristol.
• Later, the firm won a large contract with Rolls-Royce and British Aerospace, where they were provided with their own office in Filton for over 20 years.
• The Nottingham office partnered with the Ministry of Home Security, who had been established at the start of the war to provide air raid shelters and static water tanks to combat fire bombs, to deliver a scheme called the Advanced Preparation of Housing Sites for more than 200 houses for returning soldiers and their families. 

• By the early 1950’s, the Bristol office had more than 25 staff and moved to larger and more prestigious premises at 2 Park Street.
• Peter Leslie Steer joined the London office in 1951 and became partner by 1956, aged 27. John Arthur Bensley and Roger Hugh Down also joined around the same time – each with the common objective to expand Gleeds across the UK.
• A fifth office was opened in Gloucester in 1956 to meet the growing needs of the County Council, headed up by Roy Gibaud and Roger Carter. Gibaud became very well known both to the local community and the building industry where he too proved instrumental to the success of Gleeds and the establishment of the RICS.
• By 1952, another office was opened in Doncaster by Charles Southgate’s son, Tony, to deliver the Coal Industry Housing Association projects.

• During the 1960’s and 1970’s, Gleeds expanded exponentially and opened additional offices in Birmingham, Tunbridge Wells, Swindon, Cardiff, Winchester, Warrington, Derby, Doncaster, Northampton, Sheffield, Leeds, Newcastle, Edinburgh and Glasgow.
• Gleeds’ reputation was growing and a transformation occurred within their service offering – the introduction of advisory roles. For the first time ever, the industry recognised the value of advisory roles and the direct appointment of surveyors to clients – something which revolutionised the built environment.
• In 1961, Bristol partner Clive Browning, published the book Building Economics and Cost Planning which became the quantity surveying profession textbook and has subsequently been translated into more than 25 languages.
• Across the 1960’s and 70’s, Gleeds built up strong partnerships with retail clients such as Boots, ASDA, Marks & Spencer, as well as education clients such as University of Cambridge, Oxford and Nottingham. Gleeds first began working for Boots after the war to reconstruct their printing works and still manage the works for their manufacturing, distribution, retail and property divisions today.

• In 1998, Richard Steer becomes Senior Partner and by 1999, Chairman of Gleeds Global.
• Further offices were opened around the world in Central Europe and China – with offices opening in Poland, Czechia, Hungary, Ukraine, Romania and Albania.
• David Johnson establishes Gleeds Iberica in Spain and Portugal and becomes Managing Director.

• In 2002, Gleeds opens its first offices in America. Chris Soffe leads on the opening and expansion of offices in Atlanta, New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Charlotte. 
• In 2005, the Gleeds Middle Eastern business is developed with offices opening in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Qatar. Later, in 2010, Gleeds India is established with offices opening in Bangalore, Chennai, Pune and Mumbai.
• Further expansion continued as Australia and Hong Kong offices were opened in 2012.

Gleeds continues to expand and develop its legacy as the leading global construction consultancy.