🌐 Ten Years of JAMES Ltd: A Decade of High‑Hazard Excellence — And Why 2026 Will Be Our Defining Year

On 11 December 2015, JAMES Ltd was founded with a clear purpose: to deliver high‑hazard decommissioning, dismantling, demolition and remediation projects with greater technical depth, stronger governance and an unwavering commitment to doing things properly.

There was no global footprint, no multi‑disciplinary team and no established client list, just experience, determination and a belief that industrial asset retirement could be led with more clarity, more discipline, and more value for clients.

Having built the foundations of my technical and leadership approach in his career, I left full‑time employment to start JAMES Ltd.  At the time my wife was heavily pregnant with our second child and understandably questioned whether it was the right moment to start up a business on my own, but the drive to build something meaningful and specialist was impossible to ignore.

From that point, the journey became defined by technical rigour, trust, and the belief that high‑hazard projects deserve a consultancy that genuinely understands them.

A Decade of Delivery with 75+ Projects Across High‑Hazard Industries

Although several major projects defined our earliest years, the true scale of JAMES Ltd lies in the 75+ projects delivered over the past decade.

Our consultancy now supports:

• • • Oil & Gas and Petrochemical facilities
    • Chemical processing plants
    • Power generation — coal, gas, biomass, CCGT
    • Nuclear decommissioning and specialist programmes
    • Pharmaceutical and manufacturing facilities
    • Offshore decommissioning and late‑life asset strategies
    • Construction and enabling works for large redevelopment schemes
    • Major hazard industrial environments across the UK and globally

These projects range from short‑duration advisory commissions to multi‑year, multi‑phase asset retirement programmes. We have delivered work across Asia, Oceania, Europe and South America, reflecting the trust our clients place in JAMES Ltd to advise on and lead some of the most technically demanding and sensitive industrial projects in the sector.

This breadth of experience forms the foundation of the consultancy we are today.

The Early Days — The Key Projects That Shaped Our Foundations

BASF — Where Our Journey Began

Our first commission came from BASF, at the time the world’s largest chemical company. The assignment was anything but simple:

• • • complex dismantling in live COMAH environments
    • redundant asset removals within high‑hazard operational zones
    • multiple demolition and dismantling packages requiring precise control

The work set the tone for how JAMES Ltd would operate. Serving as Subject Matter Expert, Project Manager and CDM Principal Designer, we established a delivery model built on deep technical understanding, transparency, and proactive risk management, traits that still form the backbone of our consultancy today.

SABIC → Ironbridge — A Growing Technical Portfolio

From BASF, our portfolio broadened rapidly.

We worked at SABIC on a major petrochemical demolition programme, further embedding our capabilities in large‑scale asset retirement and strategy development.

Then came Ironbridge Power Station; a project significant not only for its technical and logistical complexity but for the emotional connection many had with the site. Following the demolition works, JAMES Ltd was retained as Principal Designer for two phases of the remediation programme, supporting the transformation of the site long after the iconic cooling towers were removed.

These projects strengthened our reputation for delivering clarity in challenging environments and for integrating seamlessly into multi‑disciplinary, multi‑stakeholder project teams.

INEOS Runcorn & Transitioning into a Global Consultancy

The opportunity to support INEOS at Runcorn represented a pivotal moment for JAMES Ltd.

The projects involved some of the most complex decommissioning strategies we have ever worked on. While constrained by NDAs, what can be shared is that the technical demands accelerated the evolution of JAMES Ltd from a specialist independent consultancy into a business recognised for handling high‑hazard, high‑uncertainty retirement scopes on an international scale.

Our involvement here also marked the beginning of a broader team structure, strengthening our specialist network and allowing us to support multiple programmes concurrently.

Mitsubishi Chemical UK — Strengthening Our Leadership Capability

Another defining stage in our growth was securing work with Mitsubishi Chemical UK. This project not only broadened our technical remit, it also created the opportunity to bring back my former Senior Project Manager, someone who played a major part in shaping my early career in the industry.

Integrating his experience into JAMES Ltd enhanced our leadership capability and created additional depth in how we structure, manage and support complex decommissioning programmes.

From this point forward, much of our work came through direct referral, client recommendation and reputation; something the team remains incredibly proud of.

A Decade of Growth — Across Sectors, Regions and Technical Disciplines

From those early milestone projects, JAMES Ltd has evolved into a consultancy capable of supporting multiple concurrent programmes across diverse industrial sectors.

Our expertise now covers:

• • • Decommissioning strategy and planning
    • Decommissioning and demolition Subject Matter Experts
    • CDM advisory and client-side governance
    • Asset Retirement Obligations (ARO) Estimates / Closure Reports
    • Demolition preparation guidance
    • Cost engineering and management
    • Contractor integration and project leadership
    • Demolition methodology and technical assurance
    • Remediation and enabling works support

We continue to expand our engineering capability, specialist network and international reach; strengthening our position as a trusted consultancy for high‑hazard environments.

Looking Ahead to 2026 — Our Most Transformational Year Yet

As we enter into our eleventh year, we are preparing for what could be the most significant period in our company’s history.

On the horizon:

• Major offshore decommissioning programmes entering new phases
• Several large power station retirement projects
• Expansion into a brand‑new global region
• Further investment in our nuclear and engineering capability
• Continued growth of our consultancy team and specialist partners

Our pipeline, capability and client relationships have never been stronger.

I am more excited about the next chapter of JAMES Ltd than at any time over the past decade. What began as a belief that industrial retirement could be done differently has grown into a consultancy with global reach, deep technical credibility and a proven track record across dozens of high‑hazard environments.

Thank You

To all our clients, partners, colleagues and collaborators — thank you for being part of this journey. Your support, trust and shared commitment to excellence have shaped JAMES Ltd into the consultancy it is today.

Here’s to the next decade.

James Armstrong
Managing Director, JAMES Ltd
Providing all-inclusive, value-added management solutions for Decommissioning, Demolition & Remediation Projects.