Balfour Beatty teams up with consultants

Balfour Beatty is streamlining the number of design consultants it will work with in the future after signing deals with just three firms.

The contractor has formed a partnership with Atkins, now owned by Canadian firm SNC Lavalin, Mott MacDonald and WSP.

Explaining the move, the country’s biggest builder said: “Customers will benefit from earlier engagement with a co-ordinated collaborative team and improved, consistent working practices which will ultimately reduce construction and programme costs.”

The partnership will be led by Balfour Beatty’s newly-appointed strategic design consultant partnership director Robin Bashford. He was previously worked within Balfour’s major projects business.

The three have all worked with Balfour Beatty extensively in the past – Atkins worked with the firm on the M25 widening scheme, while the contractor is currently working with Mott MacDonald on HS2. Three years ago it sold Parsons Brinckerhoff to WSP for £800m.

Balfour Beatty managing director for major projects Stephen Tarr said: “This partnership will draw on decades of industry experience and combine it with the modern-day technological expertise of our engineers and designers to deliver a truly lean, expert, trusted and safe way of working together as an industry.