Hill and Haleys team up

The move allows Hill to expand beyond its London base into the North and North West.

The team of five started working for Hill yesterday. They will be based at Maple Consult’s offices at Exchange Quay in Manchester.

Maple’s team is led by quantum specialists Michael Kenyon and John Smith and planning expert Chris Foan. It works in various sectors, including buildings and civils, oil and gas, power and infrastructure. The division was set up in early 2003 by former director David Somerset.

As part of the acquisition, Haleys will provide specialist support to Hill on building services disputes, while Hill will support and assist Haleys with its international operations in the Middle and Far East.

Hill said: “Maple and Hill staff had a history of having worked together in the past and the synergies of a combined operation were discussed at various levels over the past year. This became the foundation of a wider worldwide strategic initiative between Hill International and Haleys.”

Hill said the Manchester office would expand over the coming months to offer the full spectrum of Hill’s services, including claims and dispute resolution, contract management services, project and programme monitoring, forensic planning, project and construction management and general management consulting services.

Steve Haley, managing director and founder of Haleys, said:

“This agreement allows Haleys to re-discover and build upon its previous international successes. In the near future I expect to be able to announce further details of our new operations in the Middle East”.

Renny Borhan, senior vice president in charge of Hill’s European and Middle Eastern claims operations, said: “The agreement with Haleys is an added bonus that will add to the portfolio of services we are able to offer our clients both in the UK and overseas.”

n Haleys is the new name for Haley Somerset Consulting.

The firm is projecting a profit of £400,000 for 2005-2006, not the year to June 2005 as stated in QS News on 12 August.

Haleys was renamed following the departure of co-founder David Somerset earlier this year.

The company recently restructured into two groups: cost construction services and engineering cost management.