1980
John Southworth founded
John Southworth founded the business in 1980, starting out with small external repairs for local councils and domestic customers. It was the beginning of the family business we know today.
1989
John Southworth Builders Limited incorporated
The business continued to grow, and in 1989 John Southworth Builders Limited was officially incorporated.
1996
new opportunities
Peter Brown became Managing Director and began growing the business, with John Southworth Builders moving further into refurbishment and responsive maintenance for housing associations.
It was a time of big change in the housing sector, with housing associations taking on a much bigger role in providing and managing homes, opening up new opportunities for the business.
1999
Steven Brown joined
At just 16, Steven Brown joined John Southworth as an apprentice plumber. He learned the trade and the business from the ground up, before going on to play a much bigger part in its future.
2009
laying the foundations
Ten years after joining as an apprentice, Steven became Managing Director. Under Steven’s leadership, John Southworth moved into new build housing, marking a big change for the business and laying the foundations for the work we’re known for today.
2017
Jacqueline Brown joined
Jacqueline Brown joined as Business Director to support with the continued growth and development of John Southworth.
As the business grew, Jackie helped put the processes and procedures in place to support it, leading the Project Management team, overseeing the construction function and supporting the pre-construction side of the business.
She also led the rebrand of John Southworth, creating a stronger identity that better reflected the business it had become and where it wanted to go next.
2026
still a family business at heart.
Today, John Southworth is still a family-run SME, but the business has come a long way since those first repair jobs in 1980.
We now work with housing providers across the North West to deliver new homes, regeneration and refurbishment projects, with innovation, sustainability and social value playing a big part in how we work. And while a lot has changed over the last 46 years, we’re still very much a family business at heart.