Every business in the Northern Bear group was chosen for a reason. For Arcas Building Solutions, that reason is a track record of delivering complex commercial and industrial construction projects across the North of England to a consistently high standard. Founded in 2010, they have grown quickly into a contractor that clients in education, health, and commercial sectors return to time and again.
Who Are Arcas Building Solutions?
Arcas works across the North of England on commercial and industrial construction projects, from new build schemes to complex refurbishments in live and listed environments. Michael Nesbit leads the business as Managing Director. The approach is straightforward: plan the work properly, manage it closely, and deliver it to the standard the client expects. It sounds simple. In practice, it takes a team that knows what it’s doing.
Their work spans new build, refurbishment, extension, and fit-out projects across several key sectors, with a particular strength in education, health, and commercial environments. What connects every project is the same commitment to quality and the same level of rigour in how the work is planned and delivered.
What Arcas Building Solutions Does
Arcas offers five core service areas, giving clients a single point of contact across the full project lifecycle.- Feasibility Studies — Before a project begins, Arcas works with clients to assess viability, understand constraints, and establish a clear picture of what is achievable. Getting this stage right shapes everything that follows.
- Design and Build — Arcas takes the whole project on. Design, delivery, and everything in between sits with one team. For clients, that means fewer handoffs, clearer accountability, and a single point of contact from the first drawing to the final sign-off.
- Principal Contractor — When Arcas steps in as principal contractor, they own the site. Subcontractors, health and safety, programme management - all of it. Clients don’t have to chase multiple parties or piece together what is happening on site. Arcas handles it.
- Value Engineering — This is not about finding the cheapest option. It’s about asking whether the same outcome can be achieved smarter. Arcas brings that thinking early, when it can actually make a difference, rather than after costs have already been committed. It is a discipline that requires a genuine understanding of construction rather than a surface-level review of specifications.
- Frameworks and Partnering — Arcas operates within public sector frameworks and builds long-term partnering relationships with clients. For organisations with ongoing construction needs, this offers a reliable, pre-qualified route to consistent delivery.
The Sectors They Serve
- New Build — Alongside refurbishment and fit-out work, Arcas delivers new build construction across commercial and industrial sectors. Their design and build capability means they can take a new build project from initial concept through to completed structure, managing the full process under one roof.
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Education — Arcas has delivered significant projects within operational educational settings, including the £3.32 million design and build scheme at St Wilfrids RC College in South Shields. The project involved the transformation of an existing wing and the construction of a new two-storey teaching block, carefully phased to minimise disruption to the college and its pupils throughout.
At Northumbria University, Arcas delivered the £3.7 million refurbishment and extension of Student Central, transforming the university’s original 1969 library into a vibrant, light-filled hub at the heart of the City Campus. The project involved substantial demolition, remodelling, a new central lightwell, and external enhancements including a new steel canopy and curtain walling, all completed in time for the start of the academic year. - Commercial — Arcas has delivered sensitive refurbishment work within listed commercial buildings, including two Newcastle Building Society projects. In Newcastle, they carried out a full-scale refurbishment and extension of a Grade II listed building, preserving original architectural features including glass panels and sections of the original staircase while introducing modern mechanical, electrical, and IT systems. The Manchester project told a similar story. A prominent Grade II listed building in the city centre, redeveloped and fitted out for Newcastle Building Society while keeping its historic character intact. Building Control singled out the finished branch for its attention to detail and sensitive execution. That kind of recognition does not come from cutting corners.
- Health — Arcas brings experience in delivering construction projects within healthcare environments, where the demands on planning, coordination, and disruption management are particularly high. At South Tyneside Hospital, Arcas carried out internal and external alteration and refurbishment works for NHS Trust South Tyneside, converting an existing pathology lab into a new robotic pharmacy facility for public use. Initial works were completed out of hours to avoid disrupting the existing lab, with dust screens and hoardings carefully managed throughout. The fit-out included major mechanical and electrical alterations, fire damper installations, full new flooring, ceilings and walls, new door sets, and a new reception counter. Arcas were also instructed to manage the new scanner installation and specialist gas services on site, completing the full package for the client.
Accreditations
Arcas holds Constructionline Gold membership, CHAS Elite accreditation, and membership of Constructing Excellence North East. These reflect a business that takes health, safety, and compliance seriously, and that meets the pre-qualification requirements of some of the most demanding public and private sector clients.Part of the Northern Bear Group
The range of sectors Arcas works across, and the complexity of the projects they take on, makes them a strong addition to the Northern Bear group. Their structured, client-first approach reflects the values that run through the group as a whole.
Having a contractor of Arcas’s breadth within the group means Northern Bear can collectively support clients across a wider range of project types, from specialist heritage restoration and fire safety through to full commercial construction and new build. That kind of combined capability is what makes the Northern Bear group greater than the sum of its parts.
To find out more about Arcas Building Solutions, visit arcasbuildingsolutions.co.uk.
To learn more about Northern Bear and the wider group, visit our about us page, explore the ten businesses within the Northern Bear group, or get in touch with the team.
