Elliott Group Launches Dedicated Mission Critical Division, Strengthening Leadership Team to Meet Growing Demand Across Ireland and the UK
Elliott Group, one of Ireland and the UK’s leading construction companies, has announced the formal launch of its dedicated Mission Critical Division, marking a significant strategic milestone as the business continues to expand pits presence in the data centre, energy and mission critical infrastructure sectors.
The new division consolidates Elliott Group’s extensive live project experience in mission critical delivery and is led by a strengthened senior leadership team with the appointment of Willie Loughnane as Construction Director, Simon Clarke as MEP Director, and Ben Shepherd as Technical Director. Together, they will head a highly experienced, multidisciplinary team currently delivering major mission critical projects across Dublin, with the capability and capacity to support continued growth across both Ireland and the UK.
Elliott Group has been active in the mission critical sector for many years, delivering complex, large-scale facilities for global operators. The formal establishment of the Mission Critical Division shows both the scale of the Group’s existing portfolio and increasing market demand for contractors with proven technical depth, safety performance and delivery certainty.
Willie Loughnane, brings over two decades of experience delivering large-scale data centre and energy infrastructure projects, including hyperscale and campus developments exceeding 375MW of IT capacity, alongside more than 400MW of power generation and energy infrastructure, incorporating major generation plants and extensive 110kV substation and grid interface works. His background in fast-track delivery, EPC governance and multidisciplinary coordination reinforces Elliott Group’s ability to deliver certainty on programme, cost and quality in highly regulated environments.
Ben Shepherd adds significant preconstruction and design leadership expertise, having shaped the early technical strategy for multiple hyperscale data centre campuses and high-voltage energy projects across Ireland, the UK and Europe. His experience spans early contractor engagement, PCSA delivery models, HV infrastructure, modularisation and cross-border regulatory compliance, ensuring complex mission critical projects are robustly defined, de-risked and positioned for successful delivery from the earliest stages.
Simon Clarke completes the leadership team with more than 20 years of experience leading the delivery of mission critical MEP systems for data centre and energy projects exceeding 375MW, alongside major power generation and 110kV/MV substation programmes across Ireland, the UK and mainland Europe. With a strong electrical engineering background and deep expertise in commissioning, operational readiness and live-environment delivery, Simon provides critical oversight of the systems that sit at the core of mission critical assets.
Commenting on the launch, Darragh Elliott, CEO (ROI) and Noel Elliott, CEO (UK), Elliott Group, said:
“Mission critical construction demands absolute clarity, technical depth and a relentless focus on safety and programme certainty. While we have been delivering in this space for many years, the formation of a dedicated Mission Critical Division led by Willie, Simon and Ben reflects both the scale of our current workload and our long-term commitment to the sector. Their combined expertise significantly strengthens an already highly capable team and positions Elliott Group to support the next phase of growth for our clients across Ireland and the UK.”
The Mission Critical Division is supported by Elliott Group’s wider organisational strength, including in-house preconstruction, BIM Level 2 certified digital delivery, procurement, HSEQ and commissioning expertise, alongside a dedicated Aftercare team providing structured post-handover support. Backed by nearly a century of construction heritage, this integrated approach enables Elliott Group to manage the full lifecycle of complex mission critical projects, from early technical strategy and risk management through to construction, commissioning and ongoing operational support.
With multiple live mission critical projects underway in Dublin, Elliott Group’s new division provides clients with a dedicated, sector focused team built around experience, leadership and quality.
