Team Pipster

TRUST • COMMITMENT • COLLABORATION

A long-term trusted partnership wins work

This is what stands us apart from others, our ability to get to know and understand our clients, maintain continual communication, seamlessly work together, form trust and honesty, friendship and collaboratively celebrate repeated success.

Pipster people are not ‘parachute’ bid writers, arriving to work with you and then leaving. We prefer to stay in touch, build forward pipelines, help you target the right contracts, guide you through the tender process and witness success and business growth together!

Contact us today

A team you can trust

Pippa Birch

Founder

Hannah Thorne

Bidding Manager

Jo Brassington

Bidding Manager 

Sajia Ahmed

Bid Writer

Founder

Pippa Birch

Pippa has been a Bid Writer and Manager for over 20 years and founded Pipster Solutions in 2012. She worked in the highways industry for much of her employment, within the contracting divisions of RMC, Cemex and Aggregate Industries, gained industry-specific qualifications and was a key member of the Institute of Asphalt Technology, editing Asphalt Professional and sitting on the Council. While the majority of her career has been in Highways and civil engineering public procurement, Pippa has also worked on complicated bids in facilities management, custody, and energy. Holding APMP Professional certification, Pippa is a member of the APMP Intentional Career Path Committee, an APMP UK Rapport Mentor and is an Individual Career Path Lead volunteer for the APMP UK Chapter. Away from bidding, Pippa loves mud and taking part in OCR events across the UK. She dreams of escaping to Cornwall to live by the sea!

Bidding Manager

Hannah Thorne

Hannah is a proactive and conscientious Bidding Manager whose friendly, approachable, and professional nature has seen her build strong relationships with many clients. After joining Pipster Solutions in 2020, she has quickly progressed from Bid Writer to Senior Bid Writer to her current role where she has taken on additional responsibilities including management, business development, and leadership as a key member of the company’s Business Management Team. With eight years’ experience in bidding, Hannah started in the utilities sector and has since worked on many successful highways and civil engineering bids, as well as for the nuclear sector . In addition to bid management and writing, she also has over twenty years’ graphic design experience and uses her excellent eye for detail to elevate bid responses. Since 2021, Hannah has achieved both APMP Foundation and Practitioner Level, as well as Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) Levels 2 and 3.

Bidding Manager 

Jo Brassington

Jo is a very organised, efficient and practical Bid Writer and Manager driven to build collaborative client relationships and achieve results. She currently manages a portfolio of clients, supports team member development and contributes to business growth as a member of the Pipster Business Management Team. Jo is passionate about managing data and working efficiently and is currently building business processes and systems to improve functionality including the creation of a bespoke CRM system. With over 20 years in quarrying, construction and civil engineering sectors across bidding, marketing and sales roles, Jo brings not only bidding expertise but industry awareness and knowledge to each project providing confidence to her clients. Over the last three years she has completed the APMP Foundation and Practitioner courses, completed a bid mentoring programme and has recently applied to become a STEM Ambassador with the Minerals Matters group to promote the industry and sectors to younger people while also progressing her own career.  

Bid Writer

Sajia Ahmed

Sajia is a motivated Bid Writer dedicated to winning client work, pursuing professional development, and making a tangible impact on career promotion within the Bidding Industry. She joined Pipster as a People & Socials Officer while completing her postgraduate studies and, by shadowing Pipster’s team, learned about this exciting field and accepted a bidding role. Sajia has since completed a Bid and Proposal Co-ordinator Apprenticeship, and specialist bid writing and design courses, building technical bid development and writing skills. As Sajia builds her Pipster clientele, she is recognised for her project management skills and collaborative, client-focused approach. As Career Development Champion, Sajia is leading the development of Pipster’s industry-first Bid Writer Insight Programme. Driven by her passion, she aims to make the bidding career better known and encourage young people to select it as a conscious career choice. Sajia will soon embark on the APMP Certification Programme and achieve Foundation.  

Awards

APMP

The Pipster team of writers are members of the Association of Proposal Management Professionals (APMP) UK Chapter which promotes the professional growth of UK members through training, certification, annual conferences and community learning. As members, the Pipster team have access to continued bid industry learning and tools, knowledge and experience of bid and proposal writing peers and opportunities to professionally develop their career. As community members, we give back through participation and presentation at key industry events, volunteering and mentoring those new to a bidding career.

 

Pippa joined the APMP UK Chapter in October 2015, maintaining membership for nine years. She holds the APMP Professional certification, is a member of the APMP Intentional Career Path Committee to promote careers in bidding, is an APMP UK Rapport Mentor and an Individual Career Path Lead volunteer for the APMP UK Chapter. She has presented awards and interactive sessions at multiple APMP conferences including the London event in 2022 and Barcelona in 2024.

Hannah and Jo have been APMP UK Chapter members since 2021 and since joining, have achieved both APMP Foundation and Practitioner Level certifications and will target APMP Professional level in 2026. Every year they attend the annual conference to learn from bidding community colleagues and attend local BidX Roadshow events throughout the year on focussed topics.

Sajia became a new APMP UK Chapter member in 2022, and has just started her APMP journey, with the Foundation level study course and exam planned for 2025. She has enrolled in the APMP Affinity Groups ‘Professionals of Colour’ and ‘Young Professionals’ to extend her bidding knowledge, meet new bidding professionals and boost her professional development. Every year she attends the annual conference to meet and learn from bidding community colleagues and has attended several local BidX Roadshow events in Bristol on focussed topics.

Interested in how we can help you achieve winning bids?

Have an informal chat with Pippa. Book a free one hour consultation to discuss your tender journey to date and your needs!

Contact us
Team Pipster

Why choose Pipster Solutions

  • You will be accessing 40+ years of collective experience and work winning knowledge
  • Your business growth and success is what motivates us, we are committed to getting you results
  • We will work together with you, remain flexible to requirements, and always be guided by your needs
  • We won’t disappear! Pipster will stay with you for the long haul
  • The Pipster team is hardworking and committed to your goals as part of your team
  • All Pipsters are APMP members and are either APMP or Shipley certified
  • We are honest, using our experience to guide you and provide you with real information to make accurate decisions
  • We are a friendly bunch! Working remotely means we are used to juggling life and work, we will learn and understand your schedules and preferences to make each project stress free
  • Doing business with us is simple, with upfront quotations and estimated project costs, T&Cs and payment conditions
  • We specialise in highways, earthworks, and civil engineering bids
  • We also have experience with energy, facilities management, professional consultancy and other sectors
  • You can trust us – information is held confidentiality and securely (Cyber Essentials certified)
  • Testament to success, we have over 100 returning, happy clients! (references available on request)
Get in touch

Having worked with Pipster Solutions for a couple of years now, they have become an integral part of the (company name) family and are always our first call when we receive a tender.

Managing Director, Traffic Management Company

I have had the pleasure of working with Pippa for over 10 years. In this time she has proven herself time and time again as one the best Bid Writers in the industry. In a world of normal she bucks the trend and repeatedly gives that little extra.

Managing Director, Highways Surfacing Company