Mark Follos - Heritage Walk

Ironbridge site manager scoops a prestigious Pride in the Job award for the fifth time

A site manager in Ironbridge overseeing the construction of 85 high-quality homes has been named a winner of the NHBC’s Pride in the Job award for 2025 – his fifth time receiving this award.

Mark Follos, who runs operations at Lioncourt Homes’ Heritage Walk development in the historic village, has achieved the very highest standards in homebuilding and has been recognised as exceptional in one of the UK’s most prestigious home-building competitions.

Mark Follos said: “While my name is on the certificate, this achievement wouldn’t have been possible without my committed, expert team and our trades who have worked to the highest standards we’ve set.

“To be recognised for quality for the fifth time is a huge achievement and something I’m incredibly proud of. We’re hopeful of progressing to the next stages of this prestigious award.”

Mark was also the runner-up in the NHBC Pride in the Job Supreme category in 2022, recognising him as the second-best site manager in his category.

Overseeing the development of modern, versatile energy-efficient homes to meet the needs of a variety of home seekers, Mark has overcome challenges in his 18 months since construction work commenced, to the point where the first homes are now occupied.

This year, 449 site managers received the award across the UK, with Mark being only one of 37 people in the NHBC’s West region to be recognised for excellence.

Mark Follos added: “It goes through cycles with challenges and obstacles, but we’re always looking to find solutions and stay positive.

“Regardless of when the going gets tough, I will always make sure that we have a clean, safe and tidy site, so that when various tradespeople are attending site, they are motivated to maintain those standards of quality and respect.

“It’s all about creating an environment that allows everybody on site to thrive and achieve their goals to the best of their ability. I’ll never be one to shout and bark orders – that’s just not how we see people delivering best quality for us.”

The expertise and calmness exhibited by Mark, assisted by Callum Redshaw, and the wider team contributed to the development being recognised as one of the few in the region to obtain this sought-after accolade.

Danny Tunstall, Construction Director, at Lioncourt Homes, said: “For Mark and the site team to be recognised for their dedication to build quality and raising standards in house building is a huge honour.

“I want to take this opportunity to thank and congratulate Mark, Callum and the site team for all their hard work.

“Thank you to our contractors, suppliers, professional advisors, as well as everybody in our supply chain who has played an essential part in helping to achieve the high standards that we constantly strive for. No site manager could win this award without the right team behind them.”

“We will always strive to raise the bar set by our award-winning site managers as we continue to deliver quality homes across the Midlands and South West.”

Commenting on the awards, Steve Wood, CEO at NHBC said: “Congratulations to Mark Follos who has demonstrated the dedication, passion and leadership skills necessary to deliver new homes to exacting construction quality standards.

“Thousands of outstanding site managers have made their mark on the industry in the 45 years Pride in the Job has been running. This continued focus on excellence is vital to support the Government’s 1.5 million new homes target and to ensure that all housing is built to the quality owners and occupiers should expect.”

Pride in the Job has five categories: small, medium and large builders, plus multi-storey for projects up to seven storeys and high-rise for projects more than seven storeys.

The Quality Award winners will now go on to compete for Seal of Excellence and Regional Awards in the autumn, with the national Supreme Award winners unveiled in January 2026.