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The Whole Nine

About

Experience and credentials

Nine times in twenty years, I have walked into a business as a bids resource asked to instigate positive change. Skanska, McLaren, Balfour Beatty, Kier, Mace, Charles Edward, Yondr, VERB — different sizes, different sectors, the same brief each time: build the function that wins the work, whatever it takes.

The Whole Nine does that as a consultancy rather than as an employee. What follows is the track record behind it — projects won, sectors worked, and the roles where the approach was developed. Some of it predates the business; all of it informs what we do now.

Jack Strickland beside the River Thames in London

Track record

Selected highlights

20+ YEARS

Bids Experience — A track record in work winning that few can match

PUBLIC SECTOR

Frameworks — Using forward intelligence and strategy to untangle complex procurements

HIGH TECH

Data Centres and Manufacturing — Project and programme wins for Microsoft, Google and Meta 

~£250 MILLION+

Major Projects — Wins on landmark schemes in Commercial Offices, Residential, Infrastructure

£5 BILLION+

Combined Value — Successful bids and pitches across multiple sectors in the UK and globally

Brand to bid

Home of Production — Full continuum support from identity through to tender submissions

Sectors

Where we have delivered

  • Construction
  • Fit-out
  • Data Centres and High Tech
  • Public Sector Frameworks
  • Education
  • Professional Services
  • Real Estate Development
  • Creative Industries
  • Major Infrastructure

Career history

Experience that defines the service

  1. NOW

    A unique space in bid consultancy

    The Whole Nine

    Emphasising the interdependencies around bidding that deliver success.

  2. 2019

    Building new businesses

    Yondr · Charles Edward · VERB

    Start-ups and scale-ups. Teams, process and best practice built from scratch.

  3. 2013

    Leading large, successful bid teams

    Mace · Kier · Balfour Beatty

    Managing groups of 40+ stakeholders on landmark schemes, leading to roles defining the staffing and strategy for highly-skilled bid teams.

  4. 2010

    Learning the craft

    McLaren · VFS Global

    Having identified a specialism in bids and work winning, I learned what works in practice. Success came from doing (and sometimes failing) rather than from theory.

  5. ~2006

    On site, hands-on

    Lovells · McNicholas · Skanska

    The son of a builder, whose father before him owned a small construction firm. Construction knowledge has been gained first-hand.

Qualifications

Credentials

BA (Hons)

English Studies - The foundation for a specialism in writing.

Postgrad Diploma 

Management and Leadership - The discipline of building and running teams.

APMP Foundation

Formal method, arriving after a decade of practice.

Alongside these, ongoing development in the practical application of AI across procurement, sales and marketing — and in current best practice across all three.

Ready to work together?

If you want a team that understands the full continuum — from first impression to lasting growth — let's talk.

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