People

Jason founded the company in 2004 as a specialist winter services company, (GRITIT), winning many awards including Service Provider of the Year in the British Institute of Facilities Management Awards and several rankings in the Sunday Times Fast Track List. Following the group’s rebrand to OUTCO in 2021, Jason continues to lead the company as Chief Executive Officer.

Jason Petsch started out as a Lieutenant in the South African Parachute Regiment before joining the family wholesale agriculture supplies business. He moved to UK in 1999, working for several companies in marketing and publishing.

Richard Smeaton joined OUTCO Group as CFO in January 2023. Richard is a Chartered Accountant (ICAEW) and qualified in accounting practice in 1999.

After qualifying as a Chartered Accountant Richard spent 10 years in Senior Financial roles in Portakabin Group and then spent 5 years in a private equity backed oil and gas engineering business. Richard then joined Swift and in the last 2 years Richard has led the successful turnaround, refinance and restructure of a debt fund backed office furniture manufacturing and re-selling business prior to joining OUTCO.

Brendan started his winter facilities management journey in 2008, where he developed a passion for making sites safe and delivering the high-quality professional service that clients rightly expect, even in the most challenging conditions.

He became regional manager of Scotland in 2009 and oversaw significant growth, whilst successfully managing the operational teams through the worst winter in nearly 100 years. Promoted to regional director in 2014, he continued the region’s expansion, managing an acquisition and building a nascent grounds maintenance business.  In March 2021 Brendan was appointed managing director of winter services for the group, and together with his team, they are the most experienced winter compliance management team in the UK.

Bretton joined the company in 2007 as the first winter operator in the north east of England, from 2008 to 2010 he managed a team of winter operators as well as being an operator himself. With the exponential growth the company experienced he had to quickly move into a full time managing role and started managing Northern England. He and his team have been through the most challenging of UK winters and have continued to deliver to a high standard while managing a fast growing portfolio of client sites.

They have experience in managing large rail contracts, public health facilities, Retail parks and some of the biggest refineries in the UK. With the recent restructuring Bretton will now be directing winter operations nationally. With the vast experience Bretton and his team have of managing winter operations they are perfectly positioned to continue delivering a premium service to the UK market.

David joined the company in 2011, advancing to National Operations Director – Grounds Maintenance in September 2023. During this period, the business has shown exponential growth. David in conjunction with the senior executive team have created an operational management team capable of managing a corporate client base with a diverse portfolio, including Public Health, Retail parks, and distribution etc.

Most of the operational delivery team have been within the business from the outset resulting in excellent customer relationships and service. With the vast experience David and his team have in delivering GM services we are perfectly positioned to accommodate growth and continue delivering a premium service to the UK market.

Brendon has been with OUTCO for 13 years and is the driving force behind the smart technology enabled platform that underpins the business.

Brendon has comprehensive and enterprise-wide experience across multiple technology platforms, overseeing the development and delivery of the technology roadmap and key IT operations.

Brendon’s experience prior to OUTCO was in the manufacturing sector, where he spent 13 years in the technical print and packaging industry implementing operational strategies to deliver efficiencies and growth.

Johan brings a lifetime of experience in digital technology, automation, analytics, and marketing gained in a wide variety of sectors to the table at OUTCO, together with a wide variety of certifications and accomplishments.

Johan was promoted to Group Product Director at OUTCO, and has a brief to create great products that meet the needs of the facility customer base.

Steve has held various positions within the company, including commercial, contracts, compliance and operational roles, working his way to his current role as group commercial director.

Previously Steve worked in both the rail and civil construction industries in various leadership roles.