This week, we’re shining a spotlight on Tulloch Homes, one of the Highlands’ most established housebuilders and a proud part of the Springfield Group.
Celebrating 100 years of building in the region, Tulloch continues to deliver high-quality homes, invest in local skills through apprenticeships, and support communities across the Highlands through long-term partnerships and charitable initiatives.
A century of Highland homes
In 1925, Alexander Tulloch and his sons set up a small joinery business in the Highlands. A hundred years on, the company is one of the region’s best-known housebuilders, but the joiner’s instincts haven’t gone anywhere. There’s still the same care over how things are put together, and the same pride in the finished home
The company marked its centenary in 2025, and much has changed since those early days. The tools are different, the homes are different, and Tulloch is now part of the Springfield Group. What hasn’t changed is where it builds and who for. Tulloch is still a Highland business, employing 150 local people and a wide range of contractors, building homes in and around Inverness and in the towns and villages beyond – from the Black Isle to Badenoch.
Meet Trades Director, David MacDonald
I’m David MacDonald, Trades Director at Tulloch Homes. I’ve been with the company for 29 years, and I oversee all our internal operatives across our joinery, plumbing, bricklaying and decorating trades, along with our aftersales team. My job is to make sure we consistently deliver a high-quality home, and that we deliver it on time.
There isn’t really a typical day. I might start on site with one of our teams, checking the finish on homes getting ready for handover, then spend the afternoon working through programmes and making sure the right trades are in the right place at the right time across our developments.
Having our own trades in-house makes a real difference. We know the people doing the work, we set the standard ourselves, and we can plan our programmes with confidence. It’s a big part of why we continue to have high customer recommendation scores, and I’m proud of that because it reflects the work of everyone on site.
What I enjoy most is the people. Some of the tradespeople I work with have been here for a long time, and others are apprentices just starting out. Seeing them working side by side, and watching the next generation grow in skill and confidence, is the best part of the job.
Homes for every stage of life
Tulloch builds for a wide mix of needs: first-time buyers taking their first step, growing families who need more room, downsizers looking for something easier to manage, and people relocating to the Highlands for work or a new pace of life. Whatever the circumstances, the commitment is the same – a quality home built to last.
Many desirable features you’d expect to pay extra for are already there. Oak interior doors, kitchens with a choice of finishes, fitted wardrobes, a turfed garden.
How a home is heated matters too, with the company installing air source heat pumps as standard – an efficient, lower-carbon alternative to traditional heating that reflects a wider commitment to building homes that are better for the environment.
Homeowners agree. This year Tulloch received a Gold Award for Customer Satisfaction in the 2026 In-House Awards, based on what buyers said once they’d moved in.
Learning the trade
None of that happens without skilled people, and that’s where David comes in. As Trades Director, David spends much of his time onboarding Tulloch’s apprentices, the tradespeople who will be building its homes for decades to come. He has been with Tulloch for almost 30 years, long enough to see plenty of new starters become experienced tradespeople.
Across the Springfield Group, around one in five site-based workers is an apprentice. The latest intake brought in 28 more, mostly on sites in the north of Scotland.
“There’s a huge amount of experience within Tulloch, and it’s important that we pass those skills on to the next generation,” David says. “Our apprentices learn from experienced tradespeople on site every day, while working in partnership with assessors towards recognised qualifications. Seeing them develop their skills and confidence is incredibly rewarding.”
For David, the apprentices and the quality of the homes are the same story. “Quality has always been important to Tulloch. Investing in apprentices helps us keep those standards, while giving young people a career here in the Highlands.”
How Tulloch has responded to recent challenges
Housebuilding is an industry that is constantly changing. Global events bring uncertainty around material and energy costs, shifting interest rates affect buyer confidence, and demand for skilled tradespeople remains high across the sector.
Tulloch’s answer has been to focus on what it can control. Keeping its trades in-house allows the company to manage quality and timescales when supply chains are stretched. Instead of competing for a shrinking pool of skilled labour, the company has invested in training its own. Apprentices now make up around one in five of the site-based workforce across the Springfield Group.
Tulloch has also adapted how it builds to be more energy efficient. Moving to air source heat systems has meant new skills and ways of working for its plumbing teams, and they’ve taken it in their stride.
At the same time, the Highlands is going through a period of transformation. The Highland Housing Challenge identifies a need for 24,000 new homes over the next ten years to support the region’s growth and prosperity, and Tulloch is proud to be playing its part. As well as homes for private sale, the company is working closely with housing associations to deliver a mix of affordable and mid-market rent homes.
The biggest lesson has been to keep investing in quality, even when times are challenging. Rather than scaling back, Tulloch continues to add to its specification, including oak interior doors, Bosch appliances and EV chargers. A home is the biggest purchase most people will ever make, which is why quality is never compromised on.
Beyond the site boundary
A hundred years of building in the same region creates ties that go well past the development fence.
Shinty is one of them. Tulloch has supported the Camanachd Cup since 2017 and has committed to supporting it in the years ahead. Last year it donated 125 official match balls from the 2025 final to pupils at Newtonmore Primary, a short walk from Spey Green, to inspire the next generation of players and secure the future of the culturally important sport.
In Inverness, Tulloch has sponsored a trike for Spokes for Folks for four years running. The charity offers free trike rides for older people and those with limited mobility, helping tackle loneliness one outing at a time. Just outside Inverness, Tulloch is supporting Croy Live throughout 2026, helping bring live music to Croy Village Hall.
The centenary of the company also became a chance to give back, raising £40,000 for Highland mental health charity Mikeysline.
What comes next
Looking ahead, Tulloch’s focus remains on building quality homes for the Highlands. As Inverness and the wider region continue to grow, the company plans to grow with them, providing the homes that growth needs and contributing to the local economy through the jobs, skills and supply chain that come with that.
The apprentice programme will keep growing too. David is clear that the next generation of homes depends on the next generation of tradespeople.
Being part of the Inverness Chamber is part of that wider picture. Membership keeps Tulloch engaged with the local community and the business community it builds alongside. It supports continued local employment and helps build connections with the Highland supply chain. Good-quality homes help local businesses attract and keep the people they need, and as a Highland employer, Tulloch is proud to contribute to that.