This week Building broke a story that shocked the London QS market: Alinea – born just 10 years ago in the aftermath of Aecom’s takeover of Davis Langdon - had itself sold out to a corporate giant, this time to T&T.

The deal, rumoured to be worth £25m-£35m, means this once-independent cost consultant known for working on London towers such as 22 Bishopsgate, will be rebranded as Turner & Townsend Alinea.

For T&T the acquisition means access to top-end clients in the City of London, for Alinea it means its expansion plans have been accelerated by years, global opportunities and of course the equity partners will receive a financial windfall.

>> Also read: Why Alinea turned its back on independence and signed up with T&T

Here we have compiled some extracts from coverage in the Building archive, going back to the very beginning when some staff at the recently acquired Davis Langdon were experiencing some friction at their new owner, the global firm Aecom.