Lindum has teamed up with suicide prevention charity Andy’s Man Club to raise awareness of men’s mental health in construction and other sectors.

Andy Bampton, from Andy’s Man Club, gave an inspirational talk to Lindum employees and subcontractors at our Primark White Rose development site in Leeds, helping break the stigma that men should not express or share their emotions.

Data shows that suicide is the biggest killer of men under 54, with construction workers representing approximately 10 per cent of these statistics despite being a smaller proportion of the workforce. Building industry workers are now nearly four times more likely to take their own lives than those from all other industries.

Mr Bampton said: “Our mission is to find ‘that one man’ who needs support and prevent other families from experiencing the tragedy that led to our charity’s formation. It’s just a bunch of blokes having a chat, a brew and a laugh. I’ve seen first-hand how these conversations can save a life.”

James Nellist, Managing Director of Lindum York, said: “Mental health in construction is a really important subject that we take seriously as an employer. We’re proud to be setting the standard in our industry by bringing the mental wellbeing of our teams to the fore. Initiatives like this partnership with Andy’s Man Club demonstrate our commitment to supporting not just the physical safety of our workforce, but their mental health too.”

Andy’s Man Club is named after Andrew Roberts, 23, who took his own life in 2016. Andrew’s mother Elaine Roberts and his brother-in-law Luke Ambler came up with the idea of a group where men aged over 18 can speak freely about their mental health without judgement, in a non-clinical setting, and co-founded the first group in Halifax nine years ago.

Andrew’s mum Mrs Roberts said: “After losing Andy, I wanted to help prevent other families going through what we as a family had been through, which is why alongside Luke and the help of our volunteers, we set up Andy’s Man Club to give men a safe, judgement-free space where they could get the troubles in their lives off their chests.”

The charity now has over 300 groups across the UK with more than 5,800 men attending the free peer-to-peer support groups every week. The sessions follow a simple format with five questions designed to encourage open conversation, ending on a light-hearted note to generate laughter and connection.

The groups meet every Monday at 7pm across the UK, with no bookings required, no referrals needed and no waiting lists. Everything is free and all facilitators have personal experience of mental health challenges. The charity also offers online versions of their support groups.

For more information about Andy’s Man Club and to find your local group, visit https://andysmanclub.co.uk/

Emergency contacts: Samaritans 116 123, NHS Emergency 999

Lindum Group is currently on site at White Rose Shopping Centre in Leeds, delivering an expansion of the existing Primark store. The project, on behalf of client Landsec, will increase the store’s size from 26,200 sq ft to 55,700 sq ft, with completion expected in 2027.