In this week’s Monday Interview, TheBusinessDesk.com North West sits down with Chris Renshaw, co-founder of Liverpool-based Momentum Group, to discuss the journey from a two-man project management start-up to a £11 million, four-division business with a team of 70.

Renshaw’s story is one of ambition, resilience, and a commitment to building a business that lives up to its name—Momentum.

Starting with Momentum, Not Politics

When Chris Renshaw and his business partner Chris Bliss set out to launch their own company in 2018, they were determined to address a problem they’d seen time and again in the construction and property sector: projects that lost momentum and stalled. “We chose the name really on the basis that what we both experienced in our careers really was that lack of momentum when it comes to project delivery and project management. It was chosen deliberately. It’s something that we think that we can add to programmes and to projects,” Renshaw explains.

He’s quick to clarify that the name has nothing to do with the left-wing political movement that supported Jeremy Corbyn at the time.

“There was, some might say, an unfortunate coincidence with the left wing movement of Jeremy Corbyn and his friends. I say this all the time. We’re very fortunate in that neither Chris, nor I have any background in public sector work, right? So it never really came up in terms of discussion with clients who sort of said, ‘Oh, Momentum, that Jeremy Corbyn?’

So listen, it’s never really affected us, but yeah, it was really from our desire to try and be a company that showed that we could, as a pair of project managers, bring that momentum and agility and clarity to programmes to actually get them moving.”

Liverpool One: The First Client and a Lasting Relationship

Momentum Group’s first client was a familiar one. “We were lucky in that, in the Grosvenor, who were the original owners of Liverpool One, were client number one when we set up. They were very supportive of us, and almost immediately, we secured a five-year framework with them to provide their project management and retail delivery services, which was our background really,” Renshaw recalls.

That relationship has endured through changes in ownership to Landsec and the evolving retail landscape. “That five-year framework then translated into a five-year framework for our, what then became our construction business, Momentum Build, which was the second business that we then opened… Even though there are new owners of Liverpool One, our work there continues under the new ownership, which is great, really. I think the benefit we’ve got is that from being involved in that scheme since it was a hole in the ground, we pretty much know every nut and bolt that’s in that estate. So there aren’t many other organisations—I don’t think there would be any—that know the place like we do.”

Renshaw and his team have helped Liverpool One adapt to the changing face of retail, including the challenge of replacing anchor tenants like Debenhams. “We were involved pretty early on with the asset management team, looking at options for that building… As it transpired, Marks and Spencer took the bottom two floors and relocated, and the top two floors were let to Gravity Max, one of those new leisure operators. We project managed that project from end to end.”

Building a Culture: B Corp, Best Companies, and Investors in People

Momentum Group’s growth has been matched by a commitment to culture and values. Renshaw is proud of the company’s recent accreditations: B Corp, Sunday Times Best Companies to Work For, and Investors in People. “Clients were asking for it, right? I’ve been in construction for a long time, and, well, when I first started, construction was all about price… but actually, they want to see what sorts of companies they’re working with, and what their values are and what’s important to them.”

He continues, “Applying for B Corp for us was an important first step to actually show the type of business that we are based on a scoring of a number of different and wide criteria, whether it’s how we treat our people, whether it’s how we deal with sustainability, whether it’s what we do from a philanthropy point of view… It’s quite a high bar to reach. And not many businesses in Liverpool have done that, certainly not in property and construction.”

On the Sunday Times Best Companies to Work For, Renshaw says, “It’s one of those things where our people have to be asked the questions and they give their honest opinion. And because of that, we were really, really pleased that, again, the scores were in the high 80s, 90% across the board, pretty much.”

Growth, Structure, and Looking Ahead

Momentum Group now comprises four trading businesses: Momentum Advise (project management consultancy), Momentum Build (construction), Momentum Property Management, and Momentum Maintain (facilities management). “Build is by far the biggest, and it probably accounts for around 75% of our turnover. Our facilities management business is probably another 15%, and then Advise and Manage make up the balance,” Renshaw explains.

The company has just closed its financial year with a turnover of £11 million, a 38% increase on the previous year. “We’ve grown organically to where we are from zero to £11 million really, based on us and the people we know and the relationships we have, and that continues. It’s great.”

Renshaw is optimistic about the future, both for his business and for Liverpool. “There is a genuine feeling of optimism in this city that things are starting to unlock and things are starting to move forward… I think Liverpool is in a stronger place now, as it’s been for some time. And I think the potential this city has always been really, really strong. I think it’s just about time that we start to capitalise on it now and to really start to move it forward.”

With momentum clearly on their side, Renshaw and his team are set to continue their upward trajectory—proving that, in business as in construction, keeping things moving is what really matters.