About Us

Grant was set up by CEO, Cathal Grant, in 2008 and has grown steadily to become one of the leading companies in its field.

About Us
What we do
Why we do it
How we do it
Where we do it

With offices in London, Amsterdam, Dublin and Newry, we have been working throughout Europe for many years and are now starting to work on a global basis.

Across the retail, office and hospitality sectors we design and create the best possible physical manifestation of brands, giving them a ‘human’ face. The resulting experience is one which surprises and inspires people – whether they’re customers, prospects, staff or business partners.

We are able to fulfil our mission by combining our knowledge of and love for brands, along with our engineering capabilities. Imagining what could be possible and then making it happen. All of which deliver proven business metrics – everything from increased brand affinity and purchase intent, to improved staff retention, to higher net promoter scores.

We’d love to show you some case studies of our best work – or to discuss how we can create a brilliant brand environment for you.

Senior Team

Cathal Grant

Group CEO and Founder

Cathal was the founding Managing Director of Grant in 2008 and is now Group CEO. Prior to founding Grant, Cathal worked in architecture, specialising in architectural technology. Cathal was awarded first class honours in his BSc in Architectural & Business Sciences / Technology from the University of Ulster. In his spare time, Cathal enjoys soccer and has a keen interest in national hunt thoroughbred horses.

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Paddy Murtagh

Chief Financial Officer

Paddy joined Grant as CFO in March 2021 having worked in such diverse industries as marine leisure construction, food production, packaging, fund administration, pharmaceuticals and accountancy practice. Paddy holds an honours BSc in Accounting from Ulster University and is a qualified Chartered Accountant. He plays golf in his spare time and is a lover of all sports.

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Gerard Murtagh

Chief Planning & Procurement Officer

Gerard is a qualified quantity surveyor and procurement expert who has worked in Ireland, Northern Ireland and Australia. Gerard has been with Grant for the past 6 years. He holds a BSc in Real Estate Management & Business from Liverpool’s John Moores University and an MSc from Queen’s University, Belfast in Construction & Project Management. Gerard enjoys farming and travelling when he gets the time.

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Caroline Grant

Chief Marketing Officer

Caroline is a career marketer, having worked in tourism, financial services and business-to-business with Fáilte Ireland, New Ireland Assurance and Bank of Ireland Corporate & Treasury for Ireland, the UK, Europe and US. Caroline holds a BSc in Marketing from Ulster University. As a working mum of 4 boys, Caroline doesn’t have much spare time!

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Darren Cunningham

Chief Commercial Officer

Chief Commercial Officer Darren started his career with Sisk as a Senior Quantity Surveyor and worked with Farrans as a Procurement Manager for 7 years. Darren brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the company as he was involved in large multi-million projects across different sectors. Darren will be responsible for overseeing the commercial aspects of all live projects, while managing the commercial team. Darren enjoys football, golf and spending time with his young family.

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Stephen McMahon

Chief Revenue Officer

Stephen has over 30 years’ experience in the construction industry, serving most of that time within the fit out sector. He has worked with major high street retailers and luxury brands within the UK, Ireland and further afield. He is responsible for estimating and business development and as such is the first point of contact for many clients. Stephen has forged excellent relationships with clients over the years given his extensive knowledge of construction and thorough understanding of what the client wants to achieve. In his spare time, he enjoys watching all sports & spending time in Spain with family.

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Catriona Kearney

Finance Manager

Catriona joined Grant as Finance Manager in 2016. Catriona is a qualified Accounting Technician with 25 years’ experience. In her spare time she enjoys spending time with her family and is a busy mum.

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Brendan McCann

Operations Manager

Brendan has been with Grant for 9 years and is the Operations Manager. Brendan has over 35 years’ experience in the construction industry and manages site operations. Living close to the Mourne Mountain, he enjoys mountain walking.

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Maureen Collins

Planning & Quality Manager

Maureen joined Grant Fit Out in November 2019 and has became instrumental in implementing procedures and policies for ISO accreditations and Quality Systems. In her role Maureen supports strategic decisions that align with the company’s vision and growth plans. Maureen enjoys travelling in her spare time.

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Brendan Dowling

Chairman

A serial entrepreneur in the global telecoms and media industries for over 25 years, Brendan is a longstanding member of the Global Irish Economic Forum, an initiative led by the Irish Government, to leverage a network of over 300 of the top leaders from Ireland, based globally, to advise and assist with Ireland’s economic growth. A B. Comm graduate from University College Cork and an MBA from University College Dublin, Brendan is also a qualified Executive Coach and Chartered Accountant.

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What we do – brilliant brand experience fit outs

That’s where we come in. We create brilliant brand experience fit outs. By doing so better than any other company in the world, our vision is to become the global leader in brand experience fit outs. Our mission is to give your customers and staff an exciting, memorable experience of your brand through the brilliant physical and digital environments we create.

Why we do it

The clients we work with are seeing change at a rate never seen before. In retail, the physical store and the digital store are becoming fully integrated, with increasing levels of personalisation and customisation in both. In the near future, all retail outlets will include digital elements, with online ordering in-store, using touch screens, QR codes and AR.

Consumers no longer just want to browse and buy – they want enjoyable experiences. That’s why we place such a huge emphasis on understanding our clients’ brands and bringing them to life in innovative and impactful ways. Retail outlets will evolve from planogram-based display and retail of products to become multi-purpose spaces; lifestyle, artistic and food and beverage elements will form part of the overall brand experience.

Office environments are also changing rapidly. With skills shortages in almost all categories, it’s an employee market. Strong employer brands are now vital for attracting and retaining talent. It’s not just about salaries. Workspaces need to incorporate wellbeing, physical and mental health and mindfulness elements – witness the increasing number of companies appointing a Chief Health Officer. An excellent and nutritious food offering is no longer just a nice to have.

The physical layout of offices needs to provide a far greater variety of workspaces, particularly meeting rooms, breakout rooms and working pods. And, as more people work from home more often, the social aspects of office environments assume far greater importance – this is now how company culture is built and maintained. Again, it’s all about bringing the employer brand to life in meaningful ways.

How we do it – creativity plus craftsmanship

How do we do this? We take your brand, or your business, and we design and construct a real world for it which will excite and inspire people. We imagine what would be the most interesting and memorable expression of your brand in a physical or digital environment and we make it happen. Whether it’s clients, staff, business partners or prospects, the brand experience fit outs we create are designed to make a positive and lasting impression.

Although what we do demands rigorous planning and attention to detail, our process is creative at its core. We combine our knowledge of market trends and brands with gaining a deep understanding of what is most motivating and unique about your brand. Next, we imagine all the ways we could bring your brand to life in a physical environment. That’s the creative part: it’s what will differentiate your brand from its competitors – and it’s what differentiates us at Grant from our competitors. It’s only then that the construction teams take over, using superb craftsmanship and innovation at every stage to turn the creative vision into reality.

Where we do it

It could be a retail store, an office, a hospitality or foodservice outlet. What used to be described as bricks and mortar but is now the far greater amount of sustainable, fully traceable building materials we use. It could be a fully digital environment or, more and more often, a physical outlet incorporating highly engaging digital experiences.