Head Office
0151 707 3222London Office
0203 906 8641Manchester Office
0161 751 2361Crawley Office
0845 200 2542The business was founded by Mr Ernie Simm in Liverpool in 1948, when he purchased George Hockenhall Plumbing Contractors for £200 - loaned to him by his father - Harold Edgar Simm. He later changed the name to HE Simm in honour of his father. Ernie had a very simple philosophy, which was based on building trusted relationships with customers.
Whilst we have changed significantly over the years, our enduring focus has always been to achieve outstanding levels of customer satisfaction. Our non-confrontational approach is based on collaboration and communication, and underpinned by our core values of Excellence, People, Integrity and Collaboration, which are at the heart of everything we do.
Ernie believed, and we believe today, that 'if you treat people fairly, provide superior service and quality and always deliver, people will trust you and work with you again.'
A family-run company
Ernie’s big break came in 1950, when he received his first contract from the ‘Brothers of Charity’ in Liverpool. By 1955, there was a high demand for HE Simm’s services so Ernie purchased new premises on Prescot Road, where the firm remained for half a century. The company continued to win contracts throughout the 1950s, including numerous schemes with Woolworths Group.
As HE Simm’s reputation for excellence developed, the company began to expand significantly. Ernie was awarded contracts for some of Liverpool’s most important projects, including St. John's Beacon. In 1965, Ernie’s sons Lawrence and Graham, along with Graham’s wife Jean, joined the business.
The company continued to diversify, expanding into new sectors and building upon its portfolio of expertise. HE Simm continued to win contracts for high profile projects across the city, such as the Sydney Jones Library at the University of Liverpool. Ernest's youngest son, Tony joined the business in 1975, where he remains to this day.
HE Simm continued to work on many of Liverpool’s major developments, including Park Lane Special Hospital (now Ashworth Hospital) and Walton Jail (now HM Prison Liverpool). We also began to expand nationally, working on projects throughout the country for G. Percy Trentham’s Ford Press Shops and Henbury Hall in Macclesfield.
The company increased its nationwide expansion and began to win contracts for developments throughout the UK. Throughout the 1990s, HE Simm worked on major national projects such as Orchard Square Shopping Centre in Sheffield, David Lloyd’s Tennis Centres and RAF Menwith Hill Station for the US Ministry of Defence in Cumbria. We also continued to work on many of Liverpool’s most prestigious developments and welcomed Lawrence’s eldest son, Gareth Simm into the company.
In 2003, we moved from Prescot Road to our current offices at Spinnaker House to accommodate our growing team. The fourth Simm generation now head up the team with Gareth being joined by his younger brother Greg Simm as Building Services Engineer and Graham and Jean’s son, Martyn Simm as Accounts Manager and later, their daughter Vicky as HR Manager.
HE Simm grew to become one of the UK’s top five independent Mechanical, Electrical & Public Health providers. The business expanded geographically. Our London and Manchester Business Units were both established to strategically enhance the value we offer to our customers and Gareth Simm became our Managing Director.
In 2012, we launched HESIS, our specialist fire & security installation and maintenance business, providing our customers with a fully integrated services offering, operating from four offices with coverage nationwide.
Over the last decade, our company has grown to become one of the UK’s largest family owned engineering & services providers.
In 2021, we announced our new business structure, under the banner of the HE Simm Group – expanding our services beyond Engineering and Fire & Security, adding Maintenance Services to our portfolio. Gareth Simm was also announced as our Group Chief Executive Officer.
We were also recognised as a leading MEP player, with our Engineering division winning the prestigious Construction News Award for MEP Specialist of the Year and Specialist Contractor of the Year (Turnover over £25m).