Artelia continues UK expansion with Pick Everard takeover

Pick Everard has been acquired by Artelia for an undisclosed sum as the French engineer continues its expansion in the UK.

The employee-owned business bought Austin Newport Group in Birmingham in 2020 and Castons in Ipswich in March 2024.

The latter acquisition helped it climb 26 places to 29th in Building’s Top 150 Consultants 2024 list, reporting UK income of £35m.

Leicester-headquartered Pick Everard, which ranked 23rd on the same list with £70m in domestic fee income, marks its biggest UK acquisition yet.

Established in 1866, Pick Everard today has a multi-disciplinary team of more than 700 staff working acoss 13 offices.

Duncan Green, chief executive officer of Pick Everard, said: “Joining the Artelia Group unlocks the next exciting phase of Pick Everard’s long history. 

“The strategic alignment of the two businesses will further enhance Pick Everard’s well-established position, providing the foundation for further growth and success, through diversification of our offer, and access to new clients and markets within the UK and abroad. 

“Culture alignment has been critical in our decision to join the Artelia Group, as we’ve sought a partner that is 100% employee-owned and with whom we share the same core values.”

Across Europe, Artelia employs around 8,900 staff and said it turned over €983m (£818m) in 2023.

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Its own chief executive, Benoît Clocheret, added: “This external growth operation is fully in line with Artelia’s strategy to develop at a sustained pace in order to reinforce its position as a multidisciplinary leader on the international scene. 

“With its solid economy and strong engineering culture, the UK market offers real growth prospects, whether in healthcare, infrastructure or industry. 

“Driven by our shared values of independence, proximity to our clients and technical excellence, I am deeply convinced that this merger will consolidate our Group’s development momentum, bringing new services to an increasingly broad UK market, as well as stimulating career development opportunities for our teams.”