The firm expresses ’profound sadness’ at the passing of industry leader Sir Christopher Wates
The former chief executive of Wates Group has died. He was 85.
Sir Christopher Wates, who was knighted in recognition of his contributions to the construction and development industry in 1989, died on Sunday, 22 September.
Wates Group was established in 1897 and is in its fourth generation of family ownership. At the end of 2023, it achieved an annual turnover of £2.18bn and employed over 4,000 people.
Born in 1939, Christopher Wates joined the company in the 1950s becoming its financial director and later chief executive.
He worked closely with his cousin and the group’s former chairman Michael Wates through the 1980s and 1990s until their joint retirement at the end of the century.
Michael Wates said: “The very sad news of my cousin Christopher’s death has left me with an empty feeling.
”For much of his and my career in Wates we worked together, he was my Chief Executive for many years whilst I was chairman.
“During that period, he led the company through some difficult times, and he handled the bad times and the good times with equal aplomb.
”I can say in all the years we worked together we never had a cross word. Not only was he a wonderful cousin, but also a great workmate.”
During his lifetime, he served as a director and trustee of Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust, the Science Museum, and Lambeth Palace Library. He was also chairman of the English Estates and a church commissioner.
He was the fifth child of Norman and Peggy Wates and graduated from Brasenose College, Oxford with a degree in philosophy, politics and economics before training as an accountant. He leaves behind a wife and three daughters.
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