Leadership Team

Fred Story

Owner & Chairman

Fred founded Story Construction in 1987 having worked in the industry for 8 years, after graduating with a degree in construction. Fred strongly believes that “doing it right” is the most effective and successful way to do business. Fred is committed to Contracting’s long-term growth and continuity and his children are involved in the Contracting business which ensures the core values remain strong. Fred is proud that Story Contracting retains a friendly, family approach with a professional, forward thinking and ambitious culture. His passion is making the Story businesses great places to work and great companies to do business with. Story Contracting focuses on quality and customer service in everything it does and aims to develop talented individuals with the same values.

Jason Butterworth

CEO

Jason is responsible for all areas of the Contracting business, made up of five divisions; Rail, Plant, Construction, Story Scotland and Reiver Homes. Working with Chairman Fred Story, Jason ensures that Story Contracting’s growth and success continues whilst maintaining brand reputation. Prior to joining Story Contracting, Jason worked for Balfour Beatty, McNicholas, WSP and Carillion where he worked at Board Director Level.

John MacArthur

Managing Director - Story Scotland

John joined Story Contracting in February 2015 after spending 18 years working for Balfour Beatty. He has 30 years’ experience within the Civil Engineering and Rail sector.

John joined Story Contracting following the successful award of the SCOT004 Framework for Buildings and Civils Renewals in September 2014 under the CP5 Renewals Collaborative Delivery Programme (RCDP) by Network Rail.

“My favourite thing about working at Story is the support from across the business to deliver for our clients, regardless of the challenges that we need to overcome. And we do this in a professional, collaborative manner with pride and a smile – great place to work!”

Andy Joy

Managing Director - Story England

Emma Porter

Managing Director - Story Plant Limited

Emma returned to Story Contracting as Construction Managing Director in April 2019 after a successful stretch at Arup. Emma led the Construction division to deliver a growing portfolio of multi-discipled civil engineering, infrastructure, bridges and industrial building projects, before taking on the role of Managing Director of Story Plant Limited in February 2022.

Having worked in the industry for 15 years and becoming the first Cumbrian woman to study at Europe’s leading business school, INSEAD, Emma upholds a strong reputation for her industry knowledge, ability to deliver and understanding of the local economy.

Martin Smith

Managing Director - Major Projects

Martin joined Story Contracting in 2018 as Regional Operations Manager as is now Managing Director for the Rail division. His role involves leading the delivery and development of the company’s portfolio of works for key clients along the London to North West Route. Martin started his career at British Rail before moving to Tarmac/Carillion where he worked for 22 years – working up through the ranks from Site Engineer to Project Director across the rail, highways, civils and utilities divisions.

“I have joined the business at a really exciting time, with lots of new work to deliver and win so it’s very busy, which is great when you’re new to an organisation.”

Helen Jameson

Group People Director

Helen joined Story Contracting in 2017 and is responsible for ensuring that our business remains an employer of choice by engaging, motivating and developing all colleagues. Prior to joining Story Contracting, Helen was HR Director for a national charity and before that held a number of senior HR roles in the motor industry. Helen is passionate about the involvement of people in a business and has specialised in this throughout her career.

Russell Collins

Group Finance Director

Russell initially joined Story Contracting in 2019 as Finance Controller and became Finance Director in April 2020. Russell is responsible for Story’s Management Accounts, Purchase Ledger, Payroll, Administration & Systems and IT teams.

David Prior

Group Commercial Director

David was appointed Commercial Director for Story Contracting in 2017 taking responsibility for the Commercial and Procurement functions. His role involves providing strategic outlook at group level and providing guidance and support to the delivery teams within the Construction, Rail Scotland, Rail England, Plant and Reiver Homes Divisions. David has significant experience working within the Rail and Civils environments within the UK and Australia including collaborative working in Alliances and Joint Ventures.

Alan Taylor

Group HSQE Director

Alan Taylor was appointed Director of HSQE in 2018 after gaining HSQE Management experience working across a number of high hazard, highly regulated, working environments – including nuclear decommissioning, defence, power generation, petrochemical, industrial services, asbestos removal and demolition and more recently, the insurance industry.

Alan Boyle

Construction Director