What sectors does Dragonfly Projects specialise in, and how is the business structured?
Dragonfly Projects specialises in construction project management across two distinct sectors: the commercial occupier office market and the residential developer space. The commercial occupier side has accounted for approximately 75% of the firm's work over the last four to five years. The business operates with a full-time headcount of four people and runs as a completely flat structure — no hierarchy, no layers of management.
Both market focuses were deliberate from the outset. Rather than chasing work across every construction sector, Freddie Edwards chose to stay tightly positioned in the two areas he knows best — a discipline that has paid off through consistent referral-driven growth. The commercial occupier focus reflects deep expertise in fit-out and workplace change projects, where clients need a project manager who can move seamlessly between a boardroom conversation and a site discussion with the trades team.
The flat structure is equally intentional. Edwards operated as a sole trader for three full years before making his first hires in August of his fourth year of trading. The decision to recruit was framed not around capacity alone, but around culture: the first hires were chosen for complementary strengths rather than matching profiles. Louisa Whittaker, who joined from Gardner and Theobald with approximately 12 to 13 years of commercial occupier office experience, exemplifies that approach — the team was built to extend expertise, not just headcount. You can hear Edwards develop this thinking directly in the episode, available via Listenly's Pegasus Radio page.
"The reason why I set up Dragonfly wasn't actually just to be able to run my own business. It was the privilege of being able to become an employer. Business is all about looking after people and businesses, and it's also about looking after our own."
— Freddie Edwards, Founder & Director, Dragonfly ProjectsAbout Freddie Edwards
Freddie Edwards founded Dragonfly Projects in 2022 after nearly eight years at Quartz Project Services, where he joined straight from university as a graduate and worked his way up to senior project manager. Before entering construction, Edwards read French at the University of Leeds and seriously considered a career in teaching — a background that arguably sharpened the communication skills he now identifies as central to effective project management. His route into the industry came through a work experience placement brokered via a shared sailing club connection, an origin story that mirrors the referral-led growth model Dragonfly still relies on today. He also spent time working on building sites as a teenager, giving him an early feel for the operational reality of construction that he carries into every client engagement. That combination — eight years of structured PM training at Quartz, first-hand site experience, and a genuine instinct for people — is what underpins the authority with which Edwards speaks about sector focus, team building, and the commercial choices that have shaped Dragonfly Projects from a one-person operation into a four-person consultancy eyeing £3 million in turnover.
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