Move will see Bristol firm’s name disappear following Stantec deal

Canadian engineering firm Stantec has bought Hydrock for an undisclosed sum.

The move for the 950-strong business, set up in 1995 and based in Bristol, makes it the fifth UK firm Stantec has bought since 2016. Stantec said the Hydrock deal will increase its UK workforce by a third.

Other UK firms Stantec, which is listed on both the Toronto and New York stock exchanges, has snapped up include consultant Peter Brett Associates and planning and design specialist Barton Willmore.

Hydrock provided multidisciplinary engineering design services on UWE's £27m Faculty of Engineering and Design building (c) John Seaman. Architect, Architect of Record AHR

Source: John Seaman

Hydrock worked on the faculty of engineering building for the University of the West of England in Bristol, which was completed in 2020

Cath Schefer, Stantec’s executive vice president and chief operating officer for its global business, said: “Hydrock provides us with a highly complementary line of services and expertise which only reinforces our UK offering.”

Hydrock, which has 22 offices, works across several sectors including fire safety, energy and sustainability, civil and structural, MEP, transport, environmental and geotechnical services.

Under the terms of the deal, the Hydrock name will disappear while founder Brian McConnell is stepping down.

In its last set of results for the year to March 2023, Hydrock Holdings saw revenue increase 25% to £74m although pre-tax fell 23% to £2.7m.

Stantec, which has more than 30,000 employees and 450 offices, saw net revenue climb 14% last year to CAD$5.1bn with earnings up 15% to $831m with margins up to 16.4%.

Hydrock won in the Engineering Consultant of the Year category at last year’s Building Awards. The judges said the company had taken “an industry-leading position on building safety.”

 

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