Contract scope and regional expansion
The family-owned construction and brickwork specialist started on site in September after winning a competitive tender. Its responsibilities include insulation and cavity fire barriers alongside brickwork, internal blockwork, a masonry support system and secondary steelwork.
Local workers and apprentices will work alongside crews traveling from the North West. Another specialist on the development, CCL Facades, received its appointment in August to supply the doors, windows and curtain walling.
Until this contract, the Brickwork division had carried out almost all its work in the North. McCrory is now bidding for projects in Staffordshire, Birmingham and Leicestershire as part of a diversification strategy that also includes expansion into rail, defense, leisure and infrastructure.
Founder Paul McCrory said: "The Midlands is a clear growth region for us. The pipeline is strong across commercial development, civil and infrastructure, and defence too, so it was an obvious next step." He described the Bicycle Works appointment as an opportunity to scale up the company's Midlands activity and thanked Caddick for the work.
Rental homes and first-phase funding
Bicycle Works opens the Smithgate regeneration in Wolverhampton city center, which Muse, Legal & General and Homes England are bringing forward with Caddick. The first phase comprises about 331 apartments in three six-story buildings.
Insider Media reported on August 14, 2026, that Royal London Asset Management had forward-funded the build-to-rent development. Its residential management business, ProperTies Living, will operate the homes, with practical completion expected in the second quarter of 2028.
Funding for the first phase includes £18 million secured by developer ECF from the West Midlands Combined Authority and £65 million in private investment, according to a February 2026 announcement by ECF and Muse.
Place Midlands described Bicycle Works as an £83 million civic quarter in its February 5, 2026, report. A hybrid planning application received approval in March 2025, including full permission for the first phase between Salop Street and Peel Street. The wider regeneration site was previously called "City Centre West".
The wider Smithgate plans
Beyond Bicycle Works, the Smithgate masterplan envisages up to 1,000 homes, public spaces and amenities, with 20,000 square feet devoted to retail, leisure and commercial uses. The 12-acre brownfield site connects School Street and Darlington Street with the area around Market Square. The City of Wolverhampton Council calls it the city's largest regeneration scheme.
Muse estimates in a case study that the first phase will create about 500 new construction jobs annually. Once the building is operational, it projects another 30 full-time-equivalent jobs and approximately £950,000 a year in gross GVA.
McCrory's growth and previous projects
McCrory Construction Group reports turnover of £19.9 million and won the fastest-growing medium business category at the 2026 Ward Hadaway North West Fastest 50 Awards.
A July 30, 2026, profile by Ward Hadaway traced the group's growth from its founding in 2020 and the start of trading in 2022. Turnover rose from about £4 million in its first year to £19 million in year three. The group operates alongside McCrory Brickwork, which has more than 30 years of masonry contracting experience.
Ward Hadaway also highlighted McCrory's subcontracting work at Manchester Town Hall, where its package increased from approximately £7 million to nearly £20 million. Its other assignments include structural steelwork and architectural metalwork packages for the Manchester Airport Terminal Two Transformation Programme.
