Haydn Mursell appointed chair of Checkmate as the business prepares for further growth

Infrastructure and construction veteran Haydn Mursell has been appointed as chair of fire protection specialist Checkmate Fire as part of a strategic plan to grow the business following the company’s acquisition of Rosse Systems earlier this year.

Checkmate Fire is backed by YFM Equity Partners (YFM), which supported a management buyout in 2018. The business supplies a comprehensive range of third-party accredited survey, installation and compliance services to public and private sector customers throughout the UK. With nationwide coverage, Checkmate maintains passive fire safety in around 1,500 buildings, and completes more than 12,000 fire door remediations or replacements every year.

Haydn brings a wealth of experience to the role following a 30-year executive career in the contracting, property services and development sectors. He qualified a Chartered Accountant at KPMG and held senior finance positions with Bovis Lendlease and Balfour Beatty before moving to Kier Group plc, where he was on the plc board for 10 years as group finance director and then CEO before taking on a number of non-executive and board adviser positions for complementary businesses within the construction industry.

Haydn will complement the existing skills and experience of the board, and, as chair, he will provide leadership and governance, while working with CEO John Lewthwaite and the rest of the leadership team to progress and deliver Checkmate Fire’s growth strategy.

Steve Harrison, partner at YFM, comments: “Since our investment three years ago, Checkmate Fire has already seen impressive top line growth, increasing its customer base and doubling revenue and profits. Given his extensive experience in the infrastructure, property services and facilities management sectors, Haydn has the skillset and experience needed to support Checkmate’s growth strategy and we are delighted to welcome him to the board.”

Haydn comments: “I am pleased to be joining the board of Checkmate Fire. This is an exciting time for the business and I look forward working with John and the team to deliver the company’s next phase of growth.”

John Lewthwaite added: “Haydn joins the team as we embark on the next stage in our development and will play a key role in helping us to continue to deliver our value enhancing strategy. With his strong track record in the industry and experience of operating at board level, we are looking forward to working with Haydn, drawing on that expertise and progressing our thinking as we continue to grow.”