Founded by Andrew Loughlin in 2020, the business has become known for bid strategy, bid writing and tender support. That remains central to its work. However, as the company enters a fresh year of business, it is also taking the opportunity to better reflect the wider skill set that has always sat behind the service.

For Three Sixty, this is not a sudden move into new territory, and it is not a change in direction. The broader capability has been there for some time, but like many growing businesses, it has not always been shouted about.

The company is now looking to change that. For contractors, consultants, subcontractors and SMEs, winning work is rarely about one document or one good answer. Strong submissions often depend on the evidence behind the claims, the design that helps explain the solution, the programme that gives confidence in delivery, the training that helps internal teams improve, and the brand and marketing material that helps a business present itself clearly in the market.

Those are not separate from bidding. They are part of what makes bidding work.

That is where Three Sixty has been operating for several years, often quietly, often behind the scenes, and often in response to what clients actually needed rather than what the original brief happened to say.

The business is now working more visibly with a group of trusted collaborators who bring specific expertise into that wider work-winning process. James Cadman supports the business with bid training and capability development, helping teams improve how they think, write and respond beyond a single opportunity. Sharon Conway brings bid graphic design, presentation and marketing collateral support, helping clients make complex information easier to understand and better aligned with the quality of their work. Dave Thorpe provides planning, buildability and constructability expertise, adding real delivery judgement to programmes, methodologies and tender strategies. Jake Murray brings brand, marketing and digital thinking, helping businesses communicate more clearly before, during and after the bid process.

Together, that wider team allows Three Sixty to support clients across the full work-winning journey. That might mean shaping a bid strategy before a tender lands, developing reusable case studies and CVs, improving the design and structure of a submission, reviewing programme logic, supporting technical teams with training, or helping a business communicate more clearly in the market.

It also points towards where the business is naturally heading next. As client needs continue to develop, Three Sixty is exploring how further commercial and estimating support could sit within that same wraparound model, adding another practical layer to the way contractors and SMEs prepare, position and compete for work.

The underlying point is simple: good bidding has always been broader than bid writing.

A strong submission is built from strategy, evidence, delivery understanding, design, planning, commercial judgement and trust. The bid may be the visible output, but the work around it is often what gives it strength.

That is particularly relevant for SMEs and growing construction businesses, many of whom need access to senior work-winning support without necessarily requiring a full internal bid team, designer, planner, trainer, marketer or commercial function. Three Sixty’s model gives clients access to those skills when they need them, while retaining the practical, relationship-led approach that has shaped the business since it was established.

The company’s sixth year therefore represents more than an anniversary. It is a point of consolidation.

The business has matured. Client relationships are strong. The team and wider collaborators are aligned. The offer is clearer. The service is broader than some people may have realised, but it is not broader than the work Three Sixty has already been doing.

It is simply being described properly. That clearer positioning also supports the company’s next stage of growth. Three Sixty is preparing to recruit two new members of the team as demand for its work-winning support continues to develop.

To support that next step, the business is partnering with Pettigrew Recruitment Group, led by Director Samantha Pettigrew. The appointment reflects Three Sixty’s desire to approach recruitment in the same way it approaches client work: thoughtfully, practically and with proper attention to fit.

The business has chosen to work with Pettigrew Recruitment Group because of its pragmatic, organic and human approach, moving away from the feel of conventional contingent recruitment and towards a process that better reflects the culture and long-term direction of the business.

Growth is being approached carefully. The aim is not to add headcount for the sake of it, but to strengthen a business that has become a solid, trusted service provider for

clients who need practical support across bids, strategy, design, planning, training, brand, marketing and the wider disciplines that help them win work.

Andrew Loughlin, director of Three Sixty, said: “I sometimes joke that my route into bidding gave me a very particular set of skills. A civil engineering background, time on site, design experience, bid writing, business ownership, and a fair amount of learning things the hard way.

“The truth is that the broader skill set has always been there in the business. We probably just undersold it. Clients have known they can come to us for bids, but the work has often gone much wider than that: evidence, planning, design, training, positioning and the practical thinking that helps a business explain itself properly.

“As we turn six, this feels like the right time to cement that position. We are not trying to become something different.”

 Loughlin added: “We are becoming clearer about what we already do well, and building carefully around that.

“That is also why we are working with Samantha and Pettigrew Recruitment Group. 

“Recruitment matters in a small business because one person changes the room.

“We want this process to feel considered, human and properly aligned with who we are, not just who we need on paper.” 

For those interested in joining Three Sixty on its next stage of growth, current opportunities are being managed by Samantha Pettigrew and the team at Pettigrew Recruitment Group. Further details are available here. 

For contractors, consultants, subcontractors and SMEs interested in understanding how Three Sixty’s broader work-winning support could help their business, the team would be happy to start that conversation here.