Our team

Tony Ramsdale photo

David Houghton – Chairman

David is a Chartered Accountant who, having trained with Ernst and Young, followed a path into industry before returning to the Accountancy Profession in London and then subsequently Manchester and Liverpool. Prior to his appointment as the senior partner of DSW Bridge Houghton Forensic, David was one of the founding partners of Bridge Houghton LLP. Previously, David established and developed the Corporate Finance team at Brabners Chaffe Street LLP, one of the leading Tier 1 law firms in the North of England.

David, through his profession, had worked with Thomas Storey for many years and when the opportunity arose he lead the team to buy the company in early 2016. 

Tony Ramsdale photo

Tony Ramsdale – Operations Director

Tony joined Thos Storey in 1980 as a mechanical engineering apprentice. As Quality Manager 1992 – 1999 he was responsible for the introduction and accreditation of management systems to BS EN ISO 9001 for the bridging and container divisions and BS EN ISO 9002 for the fabrications division.

Between 1999 and 2011 Tony was the General Manager of Lloyds UK in Rugby. In October 2011 he transferred to the site at Manchester to take over as General Manager there. Then in 2016, along with fellow Director Jo Lynch, and non-executive Chairman David Houghton, he bought Thomas Storey and started to change the company into the business it is today. He is an avid Manchester City supporter and loves the fact that the factory is less than a mile from their ground.

Joanne Lynch photo

Jo Atkinson, LLB(Hons) PG Dip HRM Dip IOD – COO

Jo graduated from Hull University in 1998 with a 2:1 in Law. She then worked for two years for NatWest looking after corporate accounts and tendering for transmission business before joining Thos Storey in 2000 as Health & Safety Officer and completing the NEBOSH Certificate for Occupational Health & Safety in 2001.

Jo took on the role of HR & Safety Manager in 2002 after gaining a postgraduate diploma in HR Management from Manchester Metropolitan University. In 2013 she completed the Diploma in Company Direction from the Institute of Directors for which she received the award of Student of the Year. In 2016 she, along with fellow Director Tony Ramsdale and non-executive Chairman David Houghton, bought the business. She’s barely slept since. When not at work Jo likes to tap dance.

Geoff Floyd photo

Phil Ramsdale BEng (Hons), Engineering Design, First Class- Technical Director

Phil joined Lloyds UK, a sister-company of Thomas Storey, as an Engineer in 2006 after completing a modern apprenticeship in Mechanical Engineering.  Accredited in 6 sigma, he transferred to the site at Manchester in 2011 to lead the implementation of  key projects in the Thomas Storey portfolio,  including the design and prototyping of a new armour-plated vehicle for the defence industry.  In 2016 he became Quality Manager, developing and driving a quality focused culture throughout the business while ensuring a successful transition to  ISO9001:2015.

Technical Director since 2018, Phil engages with customers and design teams to evaluate and refine requirements, deliver improvements, and drive product from conception to completion with an emphasis on quality and resource efficiency.

In 2019 Phil achieved a 1st Class BEng(Hons) from the Open University.

View our case studies
Take a look at some of the projects we have recently completed.