Justin is a highly competent project manager with over 20 years of professional experience in commercial and amenity forestry and land management. He became MD of what was then Lockhart Garratt Ltd in 2010 after working his way up through the company. He was a member of MD2MD from early on in 2020 until the company’s recent merger which has seen him step down from his role of MD and the company merge with a wider board. Justin says that MD2MD was of great value to him when he was running the business as a solo MD.

Nicholsons Lockhart Garratt offer a high-quality service integrating consultancy advice with contracting support, providing continuity and reassurance for plant supply, resources and materials. Their specialist sectors include Arboriculture, Ecology & Biodiversity Net Gain, Green Infrastructure, Garden Design & Implementation, Landscape Design & Implementation, Forestry & Woodland Management, Tree Risk Survey & Management and Tree Surgery. Nicholson’s Lochkhart Garratt are proud of their 200 strong team of consultants and contractors including Foresters, Arboriculturists, Soil specialists, Landscape Architects, Landscape Contractors, Ecologists, Tree Surgeons, Cartographers and Support staff. They have offices based in Oxfordshire and Northamptonshire, and serve a diverse client base across the UK.

MD2MD gave me the support, confidence and insight to manage through difficult times such as lock down, and our exciting merger. I would highly recommend it to other Managing Directors. Thank you MD2MD.
Justin was advised to try MD2MD by a colleague who had spoken to Bob Bradley, who was at the time MD of MD2MD, at a networking event. He attended an in-person trial meeting and thought it was brilliant. He then decided to join MD2MD and says that it has been invaluable to him as a Managing Director.
The value Justin has gained from being a member of MD2MD has been huge, for both him personally and for Lockhart Garratt as a company. The ability to bounce ideas and concerns with a big group of like minded individuals in similar situations has given him insight, experience, understanding and confidence when making tough decisions. He said these decisions were more often than not the right ones and MD2MD has played a big part in that.
Justin has done training courses before, but found the CPD offered by MD2MD very helpful. He found the peer group meetings online and the regular speaker workshops extremely helpful during lock down. Justin was able to maintain a structured routine knowing that at 8am on a Wednesday, for example, he would have a speaker workshop to attend. Justin comments that the speakers we have here at MD2MD are of a very high calibre. He particularly enjoyed Stef Du Plessis’ workshops, which gave him insight into why and how things worked the way they did in business, and therefore how to react accordingly. He was able to take what he had learnt from the workshops and share his insight with the senior team, which benefited the company as a whole.
MD2MD has also helped Justin when it came to selling Lockhart Garratt and merging the company. It gave him confidence to know what processes to expect, and Bob gave him personal advice based upon his own experience, making the whole process run more smoothly and Justin felt he could manage the change with as much ease and less stress as possible.