Category: Uncategorised
Contract Awards – April
Published: April 22nd 2024
Check out the latest developments across Transport and Infrastructure. Here’s a roundup of the major contracts awarded this month.
Rail
Network Rail
Network Rail has announced the winners of its c£2bn capital works delivery framework for CP7, covering its North West and Central region.
The frameworks have been divided into categories A, B, C and D.
Category A will deliver £490m of construction work.
- Lot A1 – Skanska and Kier will deliver work with a value of £7m to £200m.
- Lot A2 – Octavius Infrastructure and Story Contracting will deliver work with a value of £7m to £50m.
Category B – worth £695m and will deliver projects between £100,000 and £7m in value.
Companies are: Story Contracting, QTS Group, Amalgamated Construction, J Murphy & Sons, Taziker Industrial and Amey Rail.
Category C – worth £358m and will deliver projects between £100,000 and £4m in value.
Companies are: Amalgamated Construction, OTS Group, Story Contracting, J Murphy & Sons, and Amey Rail
Category D – worth £229m and will deliver works with a value up to £100,000.
Companies are: Amalgamated Construction, QTS Group, Construction Marine, J Murphy & Sons, CK Rail Solutions, and JSS Rail.
The initial term of frameworks A, B and C will be 5 years; there will be an option to extend for a further 2 years. Framework D will last for 3 years.
Additionally, Network Rail have announced the six companies who have been awarded contracts on its £4bn Train Control Systems Framework.
The framework runs from 2024 until 2034 and is worth £4bn: £3bn for digital signalling, and £1bn for conventional signalling.
Lot 1 – Conventional Signalling: Alstom, AtkinsRéalis, Hitachi and Siemens.
Lot 2 – Digital Signalling: Thales & Volker Rail, Alstom, AtkinsRéalis & CAF, Siemens.
Department for Transport
The Department for Transport has announced that it intends to make further direct awards for three passenger rail contracts – East Coast, South Western, and Essex Thameside.
All three have been direct awards since 2021.
The new deals will last for two to five years for East Coast, and three to eight years for South Western and Essex Thameside.
Transport for London
TfL has awarded FirstGroup the contract to operate the IFS Cloud London Cable Car that links the Greenwich Peninsula with the Royal Docks areas on the north bank of the River Thames.
The contract will commence on the 28th of June 2024, and has an initial core five-year term with the option to extend for a further three years.
Amtrak
Amtrak has selected an AECOM led joint venture with Jacobs to be delivery partner for the $6bn (£4.7bn) Frederick Douglass Tunnel Programme.
The programme will upgrade a ten-mile section of the Northeast Corridor (NEC), America’s busiest passenger rail line.
Highways
Kent County Council
VolkerFitzpatrick has been awarded a £34m contract to build the Sturry Link Road project, which includes a 250m long viaduct.
As well as constructing the bridge, VolkerFitzpatrick will deliver a new roundabout and approach roads to connect to the bridge.
Bath & North East Somerset Council
Bath & North East Sommerset Council will continue its collaborative relationship with VolkerHighways until 2029 for their highways and street lighting maintenance contracts.
The two contracts are valued at £16m per year.
Royal Borough of Greenwich
The Royal Borough of Greenwich has awarded Marlborough Highways with a £56m contract to provide highways maintenance and improvement works.
The is a four-year contract which began on the 1st of April.
Airports
Riyadh Airports Company
Mace has been chosen to be the delivery partner for the Riyadh’s King Salman International Airport. The airport is expected to be the world’s largest airport, opening in 2030.
Foster + Partners has been appointed by design the master plan for the airport, and Jacobs will design infrastructure.
Water
Anglian Water
Anglian Water is retaining its existing @one Alliance partners – Balfour Beatty, Barhale, Mott MacDonald Bentley (MMB), MWH Treatment, Skanska and SWECO as well as new addition Binnies.
The alliance will deliver £2.6bn of work in the upcoming AMP8 period between 2025 and 2030.
Yorkshire Water
Yorkshire Water has awarded BarhaleEnpure JV a £15m contract to carry out major upgrade work at a water treatment works in Huddersfield.
Thames Water
Thames Water has awarded Lanes Group a contract valued between £750m and £1bn to deliver large amounts of wastewater utilities work in and around London over the next ten years.
Ports
Peel Ports
Peels ports is inviting contractors to submit bids for two new frameworks covering a major long-term programme of construction works across its UK and Ireland sites, worth a total of £750m.
The port operator is seeking to appoint contractors to the two frameworks for a period of up to eight years, with one framework covering general construction and the other covering marine construction.
Energy
UK Government
Kier, X-energy and Cavendish Nuclear have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to collaborate on the next generation of UK nuclear reactors.
Following a government grant to X-energy and Cavendish Nuclear from the government’s Future Nuclear Enabling fund, the companies will explore opportunities around the deployment of a fleet of Xe-100 Generation IV Advanced Reactors in the UK.
The government’s award of £3.34m will be matched by X-energy, providing a total fund of £6.68m.
Pagabo
Pagabo has announced the 49 firms appointed to its £1.6bn healthcare decarbonisation framework.
Great Ormond Street Hospital is the healthcare sector-specialist contracting authority for the framework, which will run for four years.
The framework is split into four value banded lots over twelve geographical regions, giving a total of forty-eight sub-lots:
- Lot 1 – up to £1m
- Lot 2 – £1m to £5m
- Lot 3 – £5m to £15m
- Lot 4 – £15m+
Find a list of the 49 companies here.
Gasunie
Gasunie has awarded Mott MacDonald a contract to assess the feasibility of a green offshore hydrogen infrastructure network in the Dutch North Sea as part of decarbonisation efforts in Europe. This contract is the first lot on Gasunie’s recent engineering services framework.
Sizewell C
Framatome has signed contracts with Sizewell C worth multi-billion euros. They will be responsible for the delivery of the two nuclear heat production systems, from design phase and their supply, up to their commissioning. Framatome will also provide the plant’s safety instrumentation and control systems.
A long-term fuel supply agreement, and a contract for long-term services and maintenance to support plant operation, also form part of the agreements.
Hinkley Point C
BGEN has been awarded a £84m contract by GE Steam Power Systems for work on Hinkley Point C. Under the contract, BGEN will provide electrical and instrumentation solutions to the nuclear power station in Somerset.
The company begin later this month. The end date is scheduled for December 2027.
Public Sector Works
SCAPE
AtkinsRéalis, Arcadis and Perfect Circle have been appointed by SCAPE to two new utilities consultancy frameworks designed to help clients in the utilities sector shape their investment programmes.
The two frameworks are:
- England, Wales and Northern Ireland – £750m – Perfect Circle and AtkinsRéalis (with subsidiary support from Arcadis)
- Scotland – £500m – Perfect Circle and Arcadis (with subsidiary support from AtkinsRéalis)
The frameworks will run for four years with an option to extend for a further two.
Scottish Government
The Scottish Government has picked eight firms for its public works framework covering civil engineering projects. The framework is expected to be worth £600m over the next four years.
The framework is divided into three lots.
The largest project value contract, covering jobs over £25m, was awarded to Balfour Beatty, Farrans, Graham and Morgan Sindall.
Amalgamated Construction, Galliford Try, R J McLeod and Taziker Industrial were also awarded contracts on the framework. Find further details here.
Environment Agency
27 contractors have secured places on the Environment Agency’s framework covering small civil engineering works under £1m, M&E and vegetation management.
Amalgamated Construction, Breheny, Cheetham Hill Construction and Land & Water are among the firms to renew their places on the main civils engineering works lot, expected to be worth £336m over the four-year framework.
Firms on the M&E lot include Amalgamated, Galliford Try and JN Bentley.
Find a full list of the 27 companies here.
Scottish Prison Service
Balfour Beatty has been awarded a contract to construct the new £209 HMP Highland in Inverness Scotland. They were first appointed to deliver the pre-construction phase, including design of HMP Highland, in 2022.
This latest phase is valued at £199m and will see Balfour Beatty progress with the construction of the facility.
Ministry of Justice
Kier has been awarded a contract to expand HMP Elmley on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent. This expansion is part of the Ministry of Justice’s £500m Accelerated Houseblocks Delivery Programme (AHDP), which is part of the Government’s plan to deliver 20,000 new prison places.
Has your company been awarded one of these contracts? For inspiration or help finding senior leaders to help deliver this work, drop me a line on [email protected]
Author: Jim Newsom
Jim Newsom
Managing Director
The Great Grid Upgrade
Published: April 15th 2024
It’s the largest overhaul of the electricity grid in generations.
17 major projects to be completed in the next six years.
It’s going to be an unprecedented challenge for everyone involved in “The Great Grid Upgrade”.
This is how we would tackle it.
Firstly, what are the main complexities about this programme?
- Development Consent Orders – Many major programmes need one DCO. For The Great Grid Upgrade they will be running nine or ten at a time.
- Capacity Building – The resources required for this programme are huge. Where do you find that number of people with the right skillset?
- Collaboration – Project 13 is still in its infancy. How can we ensure leaders have the right approach to working in an enterprise model.
- Timeframe – The programme will build five times more network in the next six years than has been built over the last 30 and will face penalties for any connection delays.
While these challenges combined make this a unique programme. Individually they are all surmountable.
Whether you are client side, contractor or consultant – if you are involved with the Great Grid Upgrade, this is how we would tackle recruiting leaders to solve these issues.
For Development Consent Orders look for:
- Candidates with experience for project developers undertaking DCO’s or major planning applications from previous major programmes in other sectors.
- Candidates from a consulting background who have advised on DCO’s or major planning applications.
For capacity building look for:
- Leaders who have programme level experience rather than project. Individuals will be able to take a bird’s eye view of the scheme and identify bottlenecks.
- Leaders who have worked on programmes that had to take an innovative approach to working with the supply chain.
- Leaders who worked on programmes where there was a lack of resources and have had to find innovative solutions to resource constraints or are used to linear construction delivery.
For collaboration you can:
- Recruit leaders from other collaborative models. Enterprises are the ideal, but JV’s and alliances may display similar outlooks.
- Use competency-based interviewing and personality profiling to give you solid evidence whether or not individuals are genuinely collaborative.
- Take references from the stakeholders of the other companies the individual worked with in a JV / alliance / enterprise to see how collaborative other parties thought they were. This will give you a better understanding of how they operate.
To meet timescales, you should:
- Look to types of programmes where it was impossible to delay completion – e.g. the 2012 Olympics.
- Look for candidates in industries where there are significant penalties for programmes running late. Examples of these will be in oil & gas or mining industries where the lost revenue for delayed completion is a pointed motivator to get the job done on time.
- Consider people who worked on projects that provided incentives to deliver on time or early such as Heathrow Terminal 2.
Finding leaders for The Great Grid Upgrade is a tall order, but by no means is it an impossible task.
If you need to bolster your teams to meet the needs of this vast programme, drop me a line to discuss innovative recruitment solutions for senior hires on 07590 478 088.
Author: Jim Newsom
Jim Newsom
Managing Director
Movers and Shakers in Transport & Infrastructure the Headlines from March 2024
Published: April 2nd 2024
As you enjoy the long weekend, take a look at who’s who with our latest movers and shakers roundup.
NG Bailey
David Hurcomb, Chief Executive Officer, has announced that he will be retiring in May after 14 years in his position. He will be succeeded by Jonathan Stockton who has held numerous senior positions in the company including Chief Financial Officer and Group Director of Strategy and Performance.
Turner & Townsend
Have appointed three new Directors to its Energy and Natural Resources team. Faye Banks joins as Director of Transmission and Distribution, she leaves Vital Energi Utilities where she was Director Energy & Asset Management.
Andrew Baker joins as the Europe Lead for Energy and Natural Resources. He was previously Executive Vice President for Doris Group’s renewable business line.
Mark Savage, who has been at the company for nearly 20 years, will be the new Sector Lead for Nuclear and Head of Programme Services. Savage was previously Director of Major Projects and Physical Infrastructure.
Transport for London
Glynn Barton, interim Chief Operating Officer and Director of Buses, has announced he will be leaving the company to become Chief Operations Officer of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) council.
Steer
Stephen Wainwright has been appointed as the new Managing Director of its UK transportation and economic development business. Wainwright has been with Steer for over twenty years and has been serving in this role on an interim basis for the past six months.
Network Rail
Have appointed Jason Hamilton as the new Route Director on its North and East route. Hamilton succeeds Matt Rice, who is leaving the organisation after four and a half years as Route Director to join train operator Northern.
High Speed Rail Group
Dyan Perry (nee Crowther) has been appointed as the Group’s new Chair. Perry has a wealth of experience having been Chief Executive of HS1 and Chief Operating Officer of Govia Thameslink Railway.
National Gas
Simon O’Connor joins as the Contracts Director for the Construction team for the new National Gas business. Simon joins from Lower Thames Crossing where he was Head of Commercial.
National Highways
Tony Slater Managing Director of the Smart Motorway Programme Alliance is stepping down to take up a new job elsewhere in the industry. He has yet to announce where he is moving to
Aggregate Industries
Ian Dean has been appointed as Managing Director- Concrete Products having previously held the position as Managing Director- Landscape & Building Products at Marshalls plc.
Mayor Brown Ltd
Dr Colin Black has been appointed as Director. He joins from AECOM where he was previously Head of Strategy and Growth, Transportation ESG Lead.
John F Hunt
Have appointed Darren Potter as the new Operations Director. Potter joins from Balfour Beatty where he was also Operations Director.
Liverpool City Region Combined Authority
Have appointed Jamie Ross to the new created role of Director of Transport. He joins internally from his previous position as Interim Director of Rail.
Holtec
Have announced the appointment of Baroness Brown Julia King as its new Senior Advisor, UK. King is currently Chair of the Climate Change Committee’s Adaption Committee, Frontier IP and is a Non-Executive Director of Ørsted and Cres Power.
Sellar
Owen Dannatt has left his role as Chief Operating Officer. Dannatt has been with the company since 2019 and was working on the Paddington Square Development.
AtkinsRéalis
Have announced the appointment of Philip Hoare as the newly created role of Chief Operating Officer. Hoare moves internally from his role as President, Engineering Services.
Richard Robinson, previously Chief Executive officer, UK & Europe, is now President for the United Kingdom & Ireland.
They have also announced the appointment of Christine Healy as the new President for Asia, Middle East and Australia (AMEA). Healy joins from TotalEnergies where she was Senior Vice President.
Department for Transport
Have announced the appointment of Alex Hynes as the new Director General, Rail Services. Hynes joins on a two-year secondment from his position as Managing Director of Scotland’s Railway.
Rock Rail Group
Have announced that Charles Johnson-Ferguson has been appointed as the new Chief Financial Officer. He joins from PwC, having been at the company for 27 years, where he was most recently Partner, Corporate Finance and most recently leader of PwC’s UK Transport & Logistics division.
Balfour Beatty plc
Tony Wilson has been appointed as the new Managing Director for Balfour Beatty Transmission and Distribution. Wilson joined Balfour Beatty in 2021 as Utilities Director for Balfour Beatty VINCI’s HS2 Area North Project, leading the delivery of all utility works. Last year he joined the Power T&D business as Chief Operations Director.
Additionally, Balfour Beatty have announced that Anne Drinkwater has been appointed as the new Senior Independent Non-Executive Director, succeeding Stephen Billingham. Drinkwater will continue to be Chair of the Remuneration Committee and as a member of the Safety and Sustainability Committee.
Buro Happold
Deepak Chotwani has been appointed Managing Director for India. He moves internally from his previous position as Executive Director, Asia.
SYSTRA
Have appointed David White as Director of Health, Safety, Security and Sustainability. White joins from Galldris Group, where he was Interim Director of Health, Safety, Quality, and Environment.
Associated British Ports (ABP)
Announced the appointment of Francis Paonessa as the new Capital Projects Director. He joins from Thames Water where he has been Capital Projects Director.
Gatwick Airport
Have announced the appointment of Mark Johnson as the new Chief Operating Officer. Johnson joins from AGS airports where he was also Chief Operating Officer for Aberdeen, Glasgow, and Southampton airports.
Skanska
Andrew English returns to the business as Managing Director of Infrastructure. English previously worked at Skanska for almost a decade, including in two Managing Director positions, before moving abroad in 2020. He has most recently been Managing Director for AtkinsRéalis’ transportation division in the UK.
Arup
Loraine Martins OBE has been appointed as Global Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Officer. Martins joins from The Nichols Group where she was Global Director for Diversity and Inclusion.
QTS
Have announced the appointment of Andrew Steel as the new Managing Director. This is an internal move from his role as Operations Director of Civils and Geotechnical.
Porterbrook
Andy Bagguley has been appointed as the new Fleet Services Director. Bagguley joins from East West Rail Company where he was Head of Systems, Rolling Stock.
Wates Group
Have announced that Steffan Battle has been appointed as Managing Director of Wates Construction. This a permanent appointment having been appointed this role on an interim basis since October 2023.
Planning any additions to your senior team in the new financial year? Drop me a message to see if we can help.
Author: Jim Newsom
Jim Newsom
Managing Director
Contract Awards – March
Published: March 25th 2024
Check out the latest developments in Transport and Infrastructure. Here are the major contracts awarded this month.
Rail
Translink
Translink, Northern Ireland’s main public transport operator, has appointed AtkinsRéalis to provide design and construction management for renewal and refurbishment of their rail network’s signalling and telecommunications infrastructure.
AtkinsRéalis and Babcock International have are the two suppliers to win a place on this framework, which has a total estimated value of £150 million – £250 million, and will run until 2029, with the option to extend by a further 36 months.
Network Rail
Network Rail has started procuring for civils and construction partners to join their Midlands Rail Hub (MRH) Alliance in a contract worth £1.38bn.
The Midlands Rail Hub Alliance will comprise Network Rail, multi-disciplinary partners, and a signalling partner (being procured separately).
The Alliance will upgrade a series of rail lines and stations around Birmingham and nearby towns and cities.
Network Rail has also named six firms who will deliver a £1bn programme of medium-sized projects for Control Period 7 in its North West & Central Region.
The deal forms part of a set of frameworks covering the “Backbone of Britain” route. The framework covers projects from £100,000 to £7m.
Story has been awarded civils and building works across the entire region; Amey Rail has taken all power and signalling projects. Murphy and Amalgamated Construction has picked up multi-lots.
Find a full list of the framework details and companies awarded here.
Additionally, the preferred bidders for Network Rail’s TSCF Signalling framework, the Eastern framework lots and the Southern Minor Works framework have been notified. All these awards are in the standstill period and will be publicly announced in the coming weeks.
Hudston Tunnel
A joint venture between Mace, Arcadis and Parsons has been selected to deliver a $16bn US tunnelling project under the Hudson River, between New York and New Jersey.
The JV, named MPA Delivery Partner, will work with the client Gateway Development Commission to coordinate stakeholders, contractors, and consultants on the project.
The project will see the construction of two new 2.4-mile-long tunnels and repairs to the existing North River Tunnel, which will take rail traffic under the Hudson River.
Mid Cornwall Metro
AECOM has won a £29m contract to take the planned Mid Cornwall Metro through to the detailed design stage of the project.
The coast-to-coast rail service will create a sustainable transport corridor through central improving current links between four of Cornwall’s largest towns.
Amtrack
In the US, an AECOM-led team has been selected by Amtrack to support the development of the $1.5bn (£1.2bn) Susquehanna River Rail Bridge Project.
AECOM will provide a range of professional services, including project management, design coordination, stakeholder coordination, and schedule management. They will lead a strong team of technical consultants, including Disadvantaged Business Enterprise firms.
Alstom and SLC Rail
Alstom and SLC Rail have announced plans to launch an open access train service between London Euston and Wrexham.
A formal application to launch the service was submitted to the Office of Rail & Road by the Wrexham, Shropshire & Midlands Railway JV on the 14th of March.
Highways
Department for Transport
The £1.3bn A66 Northern Trans-Pennine project application has been granted development consent by the Secretary of State for Transport, Mark Harper.
The scheme will improve the A66 between the M6 at Penrith and the A1 at Scotch Corner by dualling 30km of single carriageway.
Calderdale Council
Calderdale Council have awarded Galliford Try a £34m contract to deliver construction work the A629 Phase 2 Halifax town centre improvement scheme.
In this redevelopment, Galliford Try will improve transport in the area through pedestrianisation, new cycle routes, new bus stops and upgraded crossing facilities, as well as provide a new public space outside Halifax Central Library.
The project is fully funded by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s West Yorkshire-plus Transport Fund.
Water
Thames Water
Galliford Try’s environment business has been awarded two contracts by Thames Water under their AMP7 framework. These are worth £64m in total.
The first contract will see Galliford Try Environmental building a £33m pipeline in Thames Water’s Riverside Flow Monitoring Zone in South London. This is in anticipation of increased demand from new housing developments.
The other contract, worth £31m, involves installing a 9000-meter clean-water pipeline connecting the Netley Mill Water Treatment in Guildford, Surrey with the main reservation network to the west of the town.
Additionally, Thames Water have picked Arcadis, Jacobs Mott MacDonald JV and Turner & Townsend to lead programme and project management of large infrastructure projects on their Strategic Resource Options programme.
This Programme Partner Framework will give Thames Water access to professional support services from these consultancies worth up to £160m.
Galliford Try
Galliford Try has launched a new partnership, known as GT5C, with consultancies AtkinsRéalis, WSP, Binnies, Sweco and GHD.
The partnership will enable water industry clients to meet their AMP8 programme objectives by having access to guaranteed levels of high-quality design engineering and will enhance Galliford Try’s own in-house design capability.
United Utilities
United Utilities has appointed Jacobs to join its Strategic Solutions Team, in a contract worth £166m across AMP8 and AMP9. Jacobs will support programme optimisation for United Utilities’ major capital works.
Tetra Tech’s RPS business has also been appointed to the United Utilities framework in a £100m contract to drive programme optimisation.
Power
UK Government
Development consent has been granted for a new £400m green electricity project to upgrade the high-voltage power network in North Yorkshire.
Morrison Energy Services, part of MGroup, will deliver the new overhead line and existing overhead line refurbishment.
Murphy will build two new substations in Overton and Monk Fryston; Hyosung and Hyundai will supply transformers to the substations.
Nuclear Waste Services
WSP and AtkinsRéalis have been appointed by Nuclear Waste Services (NWS) under a 10-year agreement to support its geological disposal facilities (GDF) programme.
The two companies will work with Galson Sciences Limited, part of the Egis Group, jointly as the Major Permissions Delivery Partner.
Under the agreement, WSP and AtkinsRéalis will undertake environmental assessment, community consultations and the Development Consent Order and permitting applications required to progress with detailed geological investigations in the search for a suitable site.
Net Zero Teesside Power and the Northern Endurance Partnership
Nine leading specialist contractors have been selected to deliver £4bn of work on Teesside, to build the world’s first gas-fired power station with carbon capture. The nine contractors will share eight contract packages subject to a final investment decision due to be taken before September.
Balfour Beatty is the main construction partner to deliver the combined-cycle power station, integrated with carbon capture plant.
Costain will oversee and manage the engineering procurement and construction of the onshore CO2 gathering system serving the East Coast Cluster of industrial companies.
Find a full list of the contractors involved and further details about the project here.
Want to make additions to your senior team? Let’s have a chat to discuss. Email me your availability for an introductory call.
Author: Jim Newsom
Jim Newsom
Managing Director
Diversifying?
Published: March 18th 2024
Things are changing within UK Infrastructure.
Have you felt the shift in your business?
Markets that have typically been a hive of mega project activity are remaining static, or even declining.
The biggy is the rail sector. For CP7, there will be loads of renewals works but less major enhancements – where does that leave all the major projects talent?
Likewise, highways. Due to delays in government decisions, funding, cost inflation and planning uncertainties, many highways programmes are not progressing as expected.
How is the market reacting?
Businesses are diversifying.
We are currently helping several businesses across the supply chain to find talent that will allow them to develop into new areas.
While work is slowing in some areas. It is absolutely booming in others.
And people are taking advantage of this shift.
What areas are worth exploring?
- Water – spend for AMP8 is £96bn up from £51bn in AMP7.
- Energy – Sizewell is on the up, National Grid’s multibillion ‘Great Grid Upgrade’, along with SSEN and SP Energy Networks spending billions to upgrade the network.
- Defence – Ageing assets needs to be replaced within the defence portfolio and this is one area that no government will be sacrificing at the moment.
- Aviation – travel demands are back to pre-pandemic levels so airport expansion projects that were put off in 2020 are back in the pipeline.
What talent is being recruited?
1. Business Development
We are currently seeing consulting firms and contractors looking to bring in BD Directors to grow these areas.
The most common background here is someone who really knows the client and market they want to win work from.
Want to grow in defence – look to recruit former army personnel or senior leaders within MoD or DIO.
Likewise for water and energy – people who understand the client’s challenges and have a network in these sectors.
2. Delivery
There are two options here. Bring in people who have done these types of projects before or transfer talent internally between sectors.
Other regulated sectors can be easily transferrable. People who have experience working closely with government, within 5-year regulatory periods.
For Transmission and Distribution projects, there are lots of synergies with rail and roads as cabling and overhead line projects are “linear construction”. Candidates from these backgrounds will be able to apply their experience of driving delivery and optimising construction logistics.
There are loads of ways to find great candidates to allow your business to expand into these booming markets.
For inspiration or help finding leaders in areas you don’t have as much experience in drop me a line on 07590 478 088.
Author: Jim Newsom
Jim Newsom
Managing Director
Movers and Shakers in Transport & Infrastructure the Headlines from February 2024
Published: March 5th 2024
Some big announcements in this month’s Movers and Shakers roundup. Check out all the latest news here…
AWE
Have announced that Nick Elliott CB MBE has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer. Elliott led the UK Vaccine Taskforce during the COVID-19 pandemic and before that was Deputy CEO of Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S).
MTR UK
Have announced that Steve Murphy will step down from his position as CEO. Murphy was MTR’s Elizabeth Line’s inaugural Managing Director from 2014 from which he became CEO in 2020.
Sir Robert McAlpine
Have announced the appointment of Neil Martin as its new Chief Executive Officer and will be succeeding Paul Hamer. Martin joins from Lendlease, Europe, where he was also the Chief Executive Officer having been in the company since the 1990’s.
Additionally, Vip Gandhi has announced that he will be joined the company as their new Managing Director of Transport. He joins for Keltbray, where he was Managing Director, Highways & Renewables (Civils).
AECOM
Stephen Kenny joins the consultancy as Project Management Director. He joins form RPS where he has been Director in the consultancy’s Project Management, Cost, & Building unit.
Gordon Lindsay also joins the AECOM team, having been appointed as the company’s Senior Vice President, Civil & Infrastructure. He moves internally from Rail & Transit Lead- Middle East & Africa and Programme Director at NEOM in Saudi Arabia.
Serco
Simon Bailey has started his new position as Managing Director, Transport & Community Services. Simon rejoins Serco from Sodexo, where he was CEO, Home Care, for the UK & Ireland.
Octavius Infrastructure
Have announced three new management positions for their new regional division. These appointments follow the acquisition of Southampton-based R&W Civil Engineering, and its subsequent rebranding as Octavius Regional Civil Engineering, or ORCE.
Chris Ellis will become the new Delivery Director of ORCE, having previously held the position of Operations Manager (Civils) at R&W.
Ben Race has been appointed as Lead Commercial Manager of ORCE, and Matthew Cooper has been appointed Pre-Construction Manager.
Murphy Group
Mark Conway joins as Operations Director. He joins from Morgan Sindall, where he was previously Specialist Operations Director.
Balfour Beatty
Have announced that Gabriel Costigan MBE has been appointed as Non-Executive Director. Gabriel has extensive experience, including 21 years in the Australian Army. In 2017, she joined BAE Systems pls as Chief Executive Officer of BAE Systems- Australia before being appointed the role of Group Managing Director, Business Development, and a member of the Executive Committee.
Stantec
Have appointed Dave Calder as the new Regional Growth Leader for the Global Region for Stantec’s Buildings practice. He joins internally, having previously been Vice President/ Sector Leader for Industrial Buildings.
Sellafield Ltd
Richard Lennard has announced his departure as Head of Client, Major Projects. Lennard will be joining the New Hospitals Programme as Executive Commercial Director.
AtkinsRéalis
Have appointed Christine Healy as the new President for Asia, Middle East, & Australia (AMEA). She joins from TotalEnergies, where she has been Senior Vice President since 2021.
KPMG
Lisa Kelvey has been appointed the role of Head of Infrastructure, succeeding Michele Connolly, who is leaving to focus on the Irish practice. Kelvey has been with KPMG for c11 years, having previously been a Partner in Major Projects Advisory.
National Highways
Have appointed Sir Gareth Rhys Williams as the new Chair of Roads, replacing Dipesh Shah, who stepped down from the role at the end of 2023. Williams joins from the Cabinet Office, where he has been government chief commercial officer for the past eight years.
Additionally, Kirsty Ryan has been appointed as Director of Organisational Development. This is a step-up position from her previous role a Senior Human Resources Business Partner.
Northern
Have appointed Jason Wade as its new Regional Director for the North East. This is an internal move from his current role as Head of Retail Operations.
CrossCountry
Steve Hopkinson has been appointed as Service Delivery Director. He joins from Network Rail, where he was Operations Director, responsible for leading the strategic delivery of infrastructure planning and operations on the East Midlands route.
OPITO
Have announced the appointment of Stephen Marcos Jones as the new Chief Executive Officer. He joins from the Association for Consultancy and Engineering (ACE) where he was Chief Executive Officer.
Buro Happold
Have appointed Deepak Chotwani as the new Regional Managing Director, India. Deepak will assume responsibility for the overall business across the India region, leading strategic growth efforts along with fostering the business and its personnel.
John Sisk & Son Ltd
Have announced the appointment of John Hennessey as the new Regional Director for its Data Centre division. John joins from STACK Infrastructure, a global data centre specialist where he was
Stantec
Have appointed Dave Calder as the new Regional Growth Leader for the Global Region for Stantec’s Buildings practice. He joins internally, having previously been Vice President/ Sector Leader for Industrial Buildings.
Arup
Jeremy Doherty has been appointed as the Edinburgh officer leader. In addition to this role, Jeremy also leads the firm’s Digital Technology, Engineering, Energy, and Environmental Projects.
Mace
Sukhy Duggal has been appointed as Director of Operations. Duggal joins from AtkinsRéalis, where he was Client Director.
Story Contracting
Have appointed Justin Hopkins as Managing Director, Central Region. Hopkins joins from Linbrooke Services where he has been Managing Director of Infrastructure.
Any big moves to announce in our next roundup? Drop me an email with your news.
Author: Jim Newsom
Jim Newsom
Managing Director
Contract Awards – February
Published: February 26th 2024
Take a look at the latest developments in Transport and Infrastructure. Here’s a roundup of the major contracts awarded in the last month.
Rail
Network Rail
Network Rail has awarded Amey five lots across the Category B and C capital delivery frameworks for the North West and Central region. They will provide electrification and plant works across the region for the next five years with the opportunity for a two-year extension.
Network Rail have also named six firms to deliver a £229m programme of minor works in their North West & Central region as part of Control Period 7 (CP7).
The deal is the smaller of several frameworks to be set up covering the “Backbone of Britain” route.
The successful firms include J Murphy & Sons, Amalgamated Construction, QTS Group, Construction Marine, CK Rail Solutions and JSS Rail.
Find a full breakdown of the contract lots here.
Infrastructure Ontario and Metrolinx
Infrastructure Ontario and Metrolinx has announced that Arcadis and AECOM Canada are the winning consortium of the design and build Pape Tunnel and Underground Stations contract for the Ontario Line.
Balfour Beatty Vinci SYSTRA JV
BBVS JV have named Anthro, a new joint venture between VVB Engineering and Egis JV, as their M&E partner for the delivery of Old Oak Common Station in West London
This a multi-year contract for mechanical, electrical, public health, fire and communications systems works at the station.
The contract was estimated to be worth between £100m and £250m when first tendered. The project is underway with contracted services due to be delivered by late 2029.
Cardiff Council
Cardiff Council has secured £100m in government funding to develop a new public transport system in the city.
WSP and Rider Levett Bucknall (RLB) have been appointed to the Cardiff Crossrail team to provide programme and cost management services.
It’s proposed that Cardiff Crossrail will create a tram link from west Cardiff, through the Cardiff Bay area and connect with a new Cardiff Parkway station on the South Wales Main Line.
Transport for London
Transport for London have announced the four bidders shortlisted to become the next operator of the Elizabeth line when the current contract with MTR Elizabeth line expires in May 2025.
These are: Arriva UK Trains, First Keolis Elizabeth line (a joint venture between First Group PLC and Keolis SA), GTS Rail Operations Limited (a joint venture between Go Ahead Holdings Limited, Sumitomo Corporation and Tokyo Metro Co. Ltd) and MTR Corporation (UK) Limited
TfL have also announced a list of three firms bidding to become the next operator of Docklands Light Railway from April 2025. The list includes current operator KeolisAmey Docklands (a joint venture between Keolis and Amey), ComfortDelGro and Connecting Docklands.
Highways
National Highways
National Highways have appointed AtkinsRéalis to support the completion of digital and technology programmes across England’s strategic road network, including the UK’s Digital Roads Strategy, in a contract worth £50m. The Technology Programmes Strategic Resources contract will last four years.
National Transport Authority
Ireland’s National Transport Authority (NTA) has re-appointed Jacobs to provide strategic support with the development of transport strategies, urban centre, local transport, and other area-based development plans.
Jacobs will also support with policy, guidance, and general town planning matters.
Hampshire County Council
The contractors on Hampshire County Council’s fifth generation (Gen5) civils and highways framework have been announced.
This is a four-year framework with a spend of up to £500m. The framework is split into two lots: East & West.
The awarded contractors are Milestone Infrastructure, Knights Brown Construction, Colas, Octavious Infrastructure, Jackson Civil Engineering, Griffiths Farrans JV, Mildren Construction and Alun Griffiths.
Find more details here.
Water
Thames Water
Barhale has secured two further Thames Water contracts close to Victoria and Euston stations.
The contracts are for work on the Victoria Station Trunk Main Replacement and the Eversholt Street Mains Replacement.
These bring the total value of works Barhale has been awarded under Thames Water’s AMP7 Conditional Allowance Trunk Main Schemes to £24.8m.
Thames Water has also picked a trio of consultant joint ventures to support the delivery of their Strategic Resource options (SRO) Programme.
Technical Partner Framework winners are: Arup/ Binnies, AtkinsRéalis/Stantec and Jacobs/ Mott MacDonald.
This framework will give Thames Water the access to professional support services worth up to £300m.
Building
Department of Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs
Mace has been named as DEFRA’s programme delivery partner for its £2.8bn Science Capability in Animal Health (SCAH) programme.
As the Programme Delivery Partner, across an initial five-year period, Mace will provide a full suite of project and programme management services, as well as PMO and planning, cost and commercial management and business advisory capabilities.
Communities and Housing Investment Consortium
The procurement group has revealed the winners of a new build framework worth £3.2bn. This is an eight-year framework for construction works and consultancy services.
Find a full list of winners here.
Utilities
Scape
Kier and McLaughlin & Harvey have been appointed to Scape’s latest £3bn Utilities Works and Services Framework for England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
McLaughlin & Harvey have also been appointed to lead the £1bn Scottish version of the contract alongside RJ McLeod.
These frameworks are set to run for four years, with an option to extend for a further four.
Want to make additions to your senior team? Let’s have a chat to discuss. Email me your availability for an introductory call.
Author: Jim Newsom
Jim Newsom
Managing Director
This is where the money is…
Published: February 12th 2024
What are the big trends emerging across Transport & Infrastructure?
There has been uncertainty across Transport & Infrastructure in the past few months.
Government decisions and delays have been frustrating.
But despite this there is no shortage of infrastructure work in the pipeline for 2024.
Let’s get the negatives out of the way first…
1. HS2 Phase 2a.
The cancellation of the mega project has impacted an awful lot of businesses pipelines. The effects of this will be felt across the supply chain.
2. Large projects hanging in the balance.
Politicians will put off difficult decisions if they can and some projects will be impacted by the impending election. Large projects that still require planning approval, have questions over financing or are facing significant environmental lobbying probably won’t see much movement this year.
The likes of Lower Thames Crossing and A303 may need to wait for the next government to form, whichever colour that may be, before any big decisions are taken.
However, there are far more positives…
3. TransPennine Route Upgrade
A much-needed programme that has the backing of all political parties and is well underway.
4. Water
The proposed spend for AMP8 is £96bn up from £51bn in AMP7. This level of investment is staggering. The water sector will need unprecedented resources to deliver this amount of infrastructure upgrades, particularly in major programmes.
5. Energy
A market that benefits from being largely privately funded so there is less government interference.
Projects are mostly centred around net zero initiatives so there are no environmental blockages to getting things off the ground.
The volume of projects taking shape is huge. Both mega projects and lots of smaller opportunities. Many businesses are investing in “off meter” ways of generating and storing their own energy, which opens up an additional stream of work to the supply chain.
6. Defence
Lots of capital works are taking place across defence. A number of estate and infrastructure programmes are underway – Devonport Dockyard being just one example.
In the past few months there has been a real increase in companies recruiting defence specialists to grow this market.
7. Airports
Passenger numbers have recovered from the pandemic. Programmes that were paused are back on and investment is ramping up.
Alongside this, new legislation around baggage handling has meant that airports are investing lots of money into upgrading baggage handling systems with tight deadlines to meet.
What does all of this mean?
- Staff will move internally from sector divisions experiencing a downturn to emerging markets.
- Specialist energy, water, defence, and aviation experts will be in high demand.
This echoes what we are experience right now. We are actively recruiting in these areas for lots of different businesses.
If you need a Programme Director, Business Development Director, Sector Director, Bid Director, or any other type of senior leader to support your plans then give me a call.
Author: Jim Newsom
Jim Newsom
Managing Director
Movers and Shakers in Transport & Infrastructure the Headlines from January 2024
Published: February 6th 2024
Discover all of the latest movers and shakers across Transport & Infrastructure over the past month.
Network Rail
Have appointed Robert Cairns as the new Interim Managing Director, Western & Wales. Cairns joined Network Rail in 2015 and has most recently been Capital Delivery Director for the Eastern Region.
Southern Integrated Delivery (SID)
Have announced that Liz Baldwin will leading the Southern Integrated Delivery (SID) alliance within the Southern Renewals Enterprise delivering the £9 billion Major Programme in the South.
BAM UK
Former HS2 Phase 2A Delivery Director, Peter Sollitt, will be joining the company as the new Alliance Managing Director TRU West starting in February.
James Wimpenny, BAM’s UK Construction Chief, has announced that he is retiring. James has been with the contractor since 1985, joining as a Management Trainee and rising through the ranks to become the Chief Executive of Bam Construct six years ago. In the interim Simon Finnie, Executive Director, Ventures, UK and Ireland Division, will take on the additional role of leading the Construction segment while a successor is recruited.
Rider Levett Bucknall (RLB)
Andrew Fettes-Brown joins the RLB Global Board, succeeding Russell Lloyd, RLB UK’s Head of Services. Fettes Brown has been Partner for the London Cost Consultancy business since 2017.
HS2
Have announced that Technical Services Delivery Director, Emma Head, will become the new Chief Railway Officer. This role will oversee and integrate the main work packages on HS2.
They have also announced the appointment of Shira Johnson as the new Chief People Officer. This is a step-up position from her previous role of HR Director.
West Midlands Trains
Andy Boyle has been appointed as Operations Director. He joins from McGinley Support Services, where he held the position of Operations Director- Rail Systems.
South Western Railway
Have announced that Stuart Meek will become the Interim Managing Director as of March. He will be joining this position internally, where he is currently Chief Operating Officer.
Clegg Construction
Michael Sims moves internally to become Managing Director, having previously been the company’s Commercial Director. This change comes with the retirement of Simon Blackburn, who has been with the company for over 20 years.
Galliford Try
Have appointed Phil Harris as Managing Director of Galliford Try Investments. Phil has been a Director of Galliford Try Investments since 2014.
Connected Places Catapult
Erika Lewis has been appointed as the company’s new Chief Executive Officer. She joins from the AI Safety Summit.
Yorkshire Water
Have announced the appointment of John Thomas as the new Director of Strategy and Regulation. He joins from Rail Partners, where he was Director of Policy.
Laing O’Rourke
Have announced the appointment of Aidan Brannan as the new Alliance General Manager in Perth, Australia. He will be part of the team constructing the new Fremantle Bridge. Brannan joins from Sir Robert McAlpine, where he was Operations Director of Highways.
HS1
Have appointed London City Airport Chief Executive Officer, Robert Sinclair, as their new CEO. He leaves the airport after six years at the helm.
Tilbury Douglas
Have appointed Andrew Bull as the new Managing Director- Infrastructure. Andy joins from ARCADIS, where has been Senior Partner & Major Programme Director since 2018.
MTR Hong Kong
Rohan Perinpanayagam will the join the Corporation as the new General Manager- Lantau (Projects). He brings with him over 30 years of major project and programme management experience from companies such as Bechtel, HS1, Crossrail, Heathrow, TfL, and HS2. He is currently Capital Delivery Director for Wastewater at Southern Water.
Willmott Dixon
Have announced a reshuffle of its main board following the retirement of Executive Chairman, Colin Enticknap. Rick Willmott moves from his current role as Group Chief Executive to become the company’s new Executive Chairman, with Chief Financial Officer Graham Dundas promoted to Chief Executive.
The company’s main board will also include two new additions, with Roger Forsdyke, Chief Operating Officer for Willmott Dixon Interiors, and Chris Tredget, COO for Fortem – the company’s repairs and maintenance company – also joining from the start of January.
Rider Levett Bucknall
Rob Leslie-Carter, previously Global Project Management Skill Leader at Arup, has joined the firm as the new Project Management Partner.
Nuclear Transport Solutions
Have announced that Gottfried Eymer has been appointed as its Managing Director- Rail. He joins from Etihad Rail where he has been CEO of the rail freight business.
Balfour Beatty plc
Louise Colley, Business Development Director, will now lead the Pre-Construction and Estimating functions in addition to her current role.
Additionally, Neil Dalton has joined the company as Defence Work Winning Director. He joins having spent three decades in the Forces, and five years with defence contractors, most recently, the Defence Infrastructure Organisation.
Northern
Matt Rice has been appointed as the new Chief Operating Officer. Matt will be joining from Network Rail, where he was Route Director.
Tilbury Douglas
Have named Phil Shaw as its new Managing Director of its Building North unit. He joins from PLS Environmental Services where he has been Managing Director since 2012.
They have also announced that Martin Horne will be joining as the new Regional Director for the North West, having held the position of Regional Director, Europe, Middle East, and Africa at Trotec Laser since 2019.
Mott MacDonald
Julie Wood has joined Mott MacDonald’s Advisory and Programme Delivery unit as Defence & Energy’s Head of Programme and Project Management. She joins from Arup, where she was a Director and Leader of Major Complex Projects.
Ramboll
Have announced the appointment of Lora Brill as Head of Sustainability for Buildings in the UK. Lora joins from Orchard Street Investment Management where she was Head of ESG and Responsible Investment.
Any big moves to announce in our next roundup? Drop me an email with your news.
Author: Jim Newsom
Jim Newsom
Managing Director
Contract Awards – January
Published: January 29th 2024
Check out the latest developments across Transport and Infrastructure. Here’s a roundup of the major contracts awarded over the past month.
Rail
HS2
Siemens Mobility has secured a £47 million contract with HS2 to provide a fully integrated station information management system across all HS2 Phase 1 stations: Curzon Street, Interchange, Old Oak Common and Euston.
California High-Speed Rail
Network Rail Consulting’s US subsidiary has been awarded a $73.2m (£57.5m) contract to provide systems engineering services to California’s High-Speed Rail Programme.
California’s high-speed network, the first dedicated high-speed railway in the USA, will link the Los Angeles basin with San Francisco, with later branches to Sacramento and San Diego.
Network Rail Consulting will support the California High-Speed Rail Authority’s Rail and Operations Delivery Branch in a partner role through to May 2029.
Transport for Greater Manchester
Keolis Amey Metrolink’s (KAM) operations and maintenance contract with the Transport for Greater Manchester has been extended. KAM will continue to operate and maintain the UK’s largest tram network from July 2024 to July 2027.
Network Rail
As we write this post, we understand that bidders on the Network Rail North West & Central region framework have been successful, have been informed and are in the standstill period.
In the coming weeks, we expect this to be announced.
Highways
Lower Thames Crossing
Bouygues Travaux Publics-Murphy JV have been awarded a £1.34bn tunnelling contract for the Lower Thames Crossing.
The Bouygues Travaux Publics-Murphy JV will join Balfour Beatty, who was awarded the £1.2bn package for roads north of the Thames last January, and Skanska who was named preferred bidder on the £450m Kent roads section in July.
Somerset Council
Somerset Council have awarded three, four-year contracts worth c£140m to Kiely Bros Ltd, Heidelberg Materials, and Octavius Infrastructre Ltd to deliver road maintenance and improvements across its network.
Cork M28 Motorway
Jacobs has been selected by Cork County Council to be technical advisor for the new M28 motorway, providing consultancy services during the design, construction, and closeout phases of the project.
The proposed motorway project will upgrade approximately 12km of the N28 national primary route.
Worcestershire County Council
Colas has been awarded a £22m contract to deliver the latest phase of Worcestershire County Council’s A38 Bromsgrove Route Enhancement Programme (BREP). The schemes delivered by Colas will see capacity improvements at key junctions.
Water
Northumbrian Water
Seven new partners have been selected by Northumbrian Water to deliver their AMP8 investment and beyond: Esh-Stantec, Avove, Farrans Construction, Costain, Mott MacDonald Bentley (MMB), BAM Nuttall, and MWH Treatment.
They are joining five consultant firms who have already been appointed to the company’s £3.6bn five-year investment programme.
Together, the new partners join Northumbrian Water’s Living Water Enterprise (LWE), a 12-year partnership that will deliver large scale construction programmes across its operating areas in the North East, Essex and Suffolk.
Enfield Council
Taylor Woodrow has been awarded a £120m strategic infrastructure contract as part of Enfield Council’s £6bn Meridian Water regeneration scheme.
The main contract award follows on from the Pre-Construction Services Agreement (PCSA) three years ago which saw Taylor Woodrow develop a sustainable design and construction solution for the project and begin an early engagement with key supply chain partners.
Building
Ministry of Justice
Pick Everard has been appointed as the sole supplier to the Ministry of Justice’s (MoJ) Professional Services Providers framework for the central England and Wales region.
This is a four-year framework, with the option to extend by times for one-year periods.
As part of the framework, Pick Everard will help deliver prisons, courts, probation facilities, border crossing facilities as well as Home Office and government buildings.
Pagabo
AtkinsRéalis and Turner & Townsend have been named as lead providers for two upcoming professional services frameworks from Pagabo.
AtkinsRéalis has been appointed as the sole provider for the £780m framework agreement that covers England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
Meanwhile, the new £27m Scotland-specific framework has been developed with the opportunity to appoint multiple Lot 1 suppliers. Following the full evaluation of bidders both AtkinsRéalis and Turner & Townsend have been appointed to Lot 1 for Scotland.
Both frameworks will start in April 2024.
The bid process for 22 service specific lots is ongoing.
Want to make additions to your senior team? Let’s have a chat to discuss. Email me your availability for an introductory call.
Author: Jim Newsom
Jim Newsom
Managing Director
Discover the latest M&A updates
Published: January 15th 2024
So much can change in a year – especially in our markets!
Here is your annual roundup of the big M&A announcements from the past year.
M Group
M Group Services acquired home decarbonisation firm AgilityEco. They join their existing portfolio of energy service providers, including Morrison Energy Services, Seeka and Callisto.
Last year they also acquired Avonline Networks. The telecom network specialist employ 90 staff across offices in Cardiff and Northumberland.
Octavius Infrastructure
Has made several acquisitions this year. They bought London-based specialist rail consultant Navitas Engineering Group. The 30-strong team provides electrical engineering consultancy services to both the railway and electricity industries.
They also bought the assets and most of the contracts of R&W Civil Engineering after it went into administration.
Amey
UK Private Equity firm Buckthorn Partners completed the purchase of Amey from Ferrovial at the beginning of last year.
VINCI Energies
Acquired high voltage overhead line specialist NorPower. This represents Vinci’s second acquisition in Scotland in the past two years, as well as the opening of new design offices in Glasgow.
United Living
Was sold to US-based private equity giant Apollo for an undisclosed figure.
Aggregate Industries
Has bought leading Midlands aggregate concrete block maker Besblock.
FM Conway
Acquired Essex-based Flowline and its 164 employees. Specialist drainage contractor Flowline appointed administrators from PwC in May.
Sweco
Has boosted its building control business with the acquisition of Ball & Berry. Ball & Berry provides Approved Inspector services to commercial, residential, education, healthcare, hospitality, industrial and leisure sectors.
OCU Group
The parent company of O’Connor Utilities and Instalcom, has acquired London multi-utility contractor Modus Utilities
Mitie Group
Has acquired JCA Engineering, an engineering and fit-out with 180 employees, in a deal worth up to £31.5m.
Severfield
Have bought Dutch steel contractor, Voortman Steel Construction, as it seeks to expand its European operations.
GRS
Construction materials group GRS has acquired ground stabilisation and enabling works contractor Soil Science Ltd.
Kier
Kier bought Buckingham Contracting Group’s rail business for £9.6m. The move saw 180 Buckingham staff move to Kier.
SYSTRA
Acquired two companies dedicated to the design of tunnels and underground structures, Bamser, in Australia and Subterra, in Spain.
Last year, SYSTRA also acquired the Swedish, Danish, and Norwegian entities of Atkins, alongside Rail Systems Australia.
Hitachi Rail
Has been given clearance to proceed with its £1.4bn acquisition of Thales’ Ground Transportation Systems business.
WSP
Has sold a subsidiary of Louis Berger – Louis Berger Services Inc. (“LBS”) to Versar Inc. a global engineering, environmental, and security services company.
They also acquired lgt, a Quebec-based building engineering firm and Calibre an engineering services provider based in Australia.
Transport UK
Abellio completed the divestiture of its UK subsidiary through a management buy-out. Abellio UK’s operations transferred in their entirety to the MBO vehicle, Transport UK Group Ltd.
Egis
Expands in Ireland with acquisition of JB Barry & Partners, a civil engineering firm with headquarters in Dublin.
Galliford Try
Has bought specialist water and energy industry contractor AVRS Systems for £7m.
Mace
Has sold its FM business to a management buyout team. The management buy-out of Mace Operate has been led by the FM arm’s Chief Executive Ross Abbate and Financial Director Chris Bampton alongside Mace Group Deputy Chairman Mark Holmes, who will become Chair of the new standalone firm.
Obelisk
Irish engineering services business, Obelisk announced the acquisition of the telecoms division of Balfour Beatty. The move follows Obelisk’s acquisition by Constructel Visabeira in 2022.
Van Elle
Van Elle Holdings has bought Galliford Try’s specialist piling business Rock & Alluvium.
Mott MacDonald
Completed their acquisition of Engevity, an Australian firm specialising in strategic advisory across the energy, climate and infrastructure sectors.
Keen to discuss your business plans for the year – when is a good time next week to catch up?
Please do drop me an email with your availability for next week.
Author: Jim Newsom
Jim Newsom
Managing Director
Movers and Shakers in Transport & Infrastructure the Headlines from December 2023
Published: January 3rd 2024
Discover all of the latest movers and shakers across Transport & Infrastructure over the past month.
SGN
Darren Elsom joins as the new Chief Operating Officer. Elsom joins from Cadent where he has been Director of Hydrogen Development & Operations, and before that Director for the Eastern Network.
New Murabba Development Company (NMDC)
Have announced that Michael Dyke has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer. He joins from Balfour Beatty where he has been Chief Executive Officer, HS2 Major Projects.
Thames Water
Have announced that Chris Weston will be joining as the new CEO. Previously CEO of Aggreko and Managing Director at Centrica, Chris succeeds Sarah Bentley, who left the business in June.
John F Hunt
Appoints Simon Hyams as its new Managing Director for the contracting arm of its £80m regeneration business. Hyams joins from Buckingham Group, where he was Managing Director of Major Projects, HS2.
CPC
Have appointed Helen Downey as the new Regional Projects Director for Ireland. Helen joins with over 25 years’ consultancy experience across numerous industries including: rail, utilities, and aviation.
Mace
Christina Brown has been appointed as the new Global HR Director for Mace Consult. She joins from Balfour Beatty where she was HR Director for the UK Construction Services division.
Transport for London
Have appointed Claire Mann as Chief Operating Officer. She returns to TfL from South Western Railway, where she has been Managing Director since 2021.
Foresight Group
Have appointed Nathan Wakefield as the new Head of Portfolio. Nathan joins from Equitix, where he was Managing Director of Asset Management.
Dragados SA
Javier Teulón Ramirez has moved internally to become the new Director for High-Tech Projects at Dragados (ACS Group). He has been Managing Director, UK & Ireland for nearly 10 years.
Network Rail
Have appointed Robert Cairns as Interim Managing Director for Wales and Western. He has most recently been Capital Delivery Director for the Eastern region and succeeds Michelle Handforth who resigned last month.
They have also announced the appointment of Mark Goodall as its new Route Director for the Wessex Route. He joins from CrossCountry Trains, where he was Service Delivery Director.
BakerHicks
Samer Ali has moved internally to take up the position of Transportation Director. He has been Highways Sector Director since January 2022.
WSP
Have announced the appointment of Paul Reilly as the new Deputy Chief Executive. He moves internally from his current role as Managing Director, Planning & Advisory at WSP. Paul will report to Mark Naysmith, Regional Chief Executive for Europe, Middle East, and Africa.
CILT(UK)
Paul Adams has been appointed as CEO. Paul has over 20 years of global leadership experience and has held the position of National Director for 2 years at the Institute of Directors.
JPG Group
Have appointed Liam Bower as a new board Director as part of their business and succession planning strategy. He joins from MJMC Consulting where he was previously Director.
Ramboll
Patrick Folley joins as Head of Aviation, UK from Jacobs where he was Director of Operations for Aviation.
Turner & Townsend
Have appointed Qian Li as the new Director and Head of Carbon Accounting in line with its sustainability practices. Li was previously Associate in greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) accounting and embodied carbon at Cundall.
Simon Earles also joins the company as Project Director within their sustainability team. He most recently worked as Planning and Sustainability Director at Bristol Airport.
Siemens Mobility
Syeda Ghufran joins as the new Director of Asset Management and Assurance for Customer Services. She joins from Hitachi Rail, where she was a Fleet Engineering Director for the UK and OS&M.
Chiltern Railways
Have announced three new members to the Executive Team:
Tony Baxter has joined as Operations Director, he joins from Northern Trains, where he was the Regional Director for Yorkshire and Humber.
Tim Sayer has been appointed as Engineering and Safety Director. He was previously at Chiltern between 2006-2009 and has most recently been UK Fleet Director at Abellio.
Andrew Camp is now the permanent Commercial & Customer Strategy Director, having previously been appointed on a job-share basis.
Balfour Beatty
Lucy Jones will be joining the UK Construction Services business as HR Director. She moves from Balfour Beatty Vinci where she has been HR Director since 2021.
The Euston Partnership
Have appointed John Reed as the new Managing Director. He joins from the GBRTT, where he was the Regional Design Lead.
Any big moves to announce in our next roundup? Drop me an email with your news.
Author: Jim Newsom
Jim Newsom
Managing Director