Meet the Washington metal workers working on homes of stars such as Rupert Grint and Alesha Dixon

Chris Taylor (left) and Neil Hood from TaylorHood Metal Works

TaylorHood MetalWorks, which was formed in 2010 by Neil Hood and Chris Taylor, has undertaken work for the likes of Rupert Grint and Alesha Dixon, as well as working alongside the country’s top architects and construction companies.

Neil and Chris, both 43, met 24 years ago, and after learning their trade they decided to start up their own business in 2010.

The pair grew the business over the following decade, and now employ 13 people and generate a profit of around £1million.

The duo have worked in homes of stars such as Alesha Dixon, Rupert Grint and Warren James

Neil said: “Chris and I first met when we served our time together at 19 years old at Clifford Chapman Metalworks in Washington.

“We both left Clifford Chapmans and worked for other companies and eventually our paths crossed again with us both working for Architectural metalworkers and we decided with the experience and skills we both had, why not try this for ourselves.”

The duo have grown their reputation over the last 10 years, specialising in staircases and bespoke balustrade for stars like Alesha Dixon, Rupert Grint and Warren James as well as Coca-Cola executives.

Looking to the future, Neil and Chris are looking to expand close to home and add more local employees to the ranks and introduce apprenticeships to grow their business.

Neil added: “Future plans for the business is to keep growing and employ more local people with the best skill level around and develop our own skilled metalworkers through apprenticeship schemes.”