Based at the company’s Birmingham headquarters, Mr Batty will manage all the mechanical aspects of mechanical and electrical services projects, from preconstruction to completion, across the hotel, residential, social housing, student accommodation, leisure and commercial sectors.

With 10 years’ experience in mechanical services, Mr Batty was previously project manager for another Midlands-based contractor.

His credits include project managing St George’s Urban Village, a mixed residential and commercial development in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter.

Mr Batty is currently working on the installation of engineering infrastructure systems for Stadia Three, the first residential element of Wimbledon Grounds, a new development of 632 homes and commercial space in Wimbledon.

The former apprentice, who lives in Stourbridge, was trained at South and City College Birmingham.

Phil Leech, managing director of J S Wright, said: “Ashley’s skills and experience will help us meet increasing demand for our M&E services from developers of multi-million-pound projects across the Midlands and the South East.”

J S Wright was voted one of the UK's Top Ten Specialist Contractors to Work For in the 2016 Construction Enquirer Awards and was a finalist in three categories in the 2018 H&V News Awards, suggesting there is a bright future for Mr Batty.