WSP Group

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Infobox Company
company_name = WSP Group plc
company_
company_type = Public limited company
foundation = Early '70s
location = London United Kingdom Offices in 35 countries
key_people = Chris Cole, CEO Malcolm Paul, Finance Director
industry = Construction management, engineering consulting
products =
revenue = GB£ 577 million (2007)
operating_income =
net_income =
num_employees = 9,500
homepage = [http://www.wspgroup.com www.wspgroup.com]

WSP (William Sale Partnership) Group is a UK-based global company that provides management and consultancy services to the built and natural environment. It was founded in 1970s and listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1987 and has since grown to employ over 9,500 staff world-wide. It operates as a specialist in the property, environmental, transportation and infrastructure sectors.cite web
url = http://www.europeanceo.com/news/139/ARTICLE/1077/2006-07-19.html
title = European CEO, interview with Chris Cole
publisher =
accessdate = 2008-04-03 ]

History

WSP was established in the 1970s as M&E Public Health Engineers in Surrey, UK. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1987 and has since expanded globally through organic growth and strategic acquisitions.cite web
url = http://www.building.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=32&storycode=3078089
title = Building Magazine, The Long Haul
publisher =
accessdate = 2008-04-03 ]

In the early 1990s, WSP began to expand its service capacity. In 1994 it acquired AB Consulting plc (trading as Kensington Ford) to strengthen its civil and structural engineering capacity and increased staff numbers to 500. The following year, it launched an environmental business called WSP Environmental and also formed WSP Asia. In 1997 WSP acquired the Graham Consulting Group to further expand its services in transport and infrastructure, and consequently raised staff numbers to nearly 1,500. By 1999, consolidation in South Africa meant that staff numbers had reached 2,000 and turnover had reached £100m.

Entry into the US market came via the acquisitions of Flack + Kurtz and the Cantor Seinuk Group in 2000. The following year WSP acquired Jacobson & Widmark (J&W) in Sweden, bringing staff numbers to 4,600, revenue to £250m and making the Group one of Europe’s largest consultancies (European CEO, Interview with Chris Cole, August 2006). WSP further increased its Scandinavian presence with the acquisition of three Finnish companies in 2003, and two years later reinforced its presence in the Middle East with two more acquisitions.

By 2006 staff number had growth over 7,000. It was another big year for acquisitions, expanding WSP’s global presence with three purchases in Australia, Ark Consulting Pty Ltd (Ark), Responsive Environmental Solutions Pty Ltd (RES) and ESH Connect Australasia Pty Ltd (RegConnect), LC Consulting in Dubai and also Environmental Strategies Consulting, LLC (ESC) is the US and Estonian Talone OÜ.

WSP celebrated its 20th year as a publicly listed company in 2007, with nearly 8000 staff in 30 countries and revenue of over £450m.cite web
url = http://www.nce.co.uk/news/wsp_acquisition_sweep_in_the_us_and_germany.html
title = WSP acquisition sweep in the US and Germany (registration required)
publisher =
accessdate = 2008-04-03 ]

Throughout the year it continued its expansioncite web
url = http://www.building.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=32&storycode=3097095
title = Building Magazine, The Age of Expansion
publisher =
accessdate = 2008-04-03 ] , acquiring Australian building services and environment engineering consultancy, Lincolne Scott, South African firm LC Consulting, a specialist in structural engineering, UK-based CEL Internationalcite web
url = http://www.theengineer.co.uk/Articles/302924/WSP+Group+buys+CEL.htm
title = WSP Group buys CEL
publisher =
accessdate = 2008-04-03 ] , and CBP Consulting Engineers in Germany. It furthered its presence in the US with two acquisitions, SEi, an engineering design businesscite web
url = http://www.contractjournal.com/Articles/2007/10/31/56710/wsp-group-pays-11m-to-expand-presence-in-america.html
title = WSP Group pays £11m to expand presence in America
publisher =
accessdate = 2008-04-03 ] and transport and infrastructure engineers SELLS.

Today WSP has around 9500 staff in 35 countries, projects operating in over 60 countries and a 2007 revenue of £577m and operates as a specialist in the property, environmental and infrastructure sectors. Chris Cole remains the Chief Executive and Malcolm Paul the Financial Director.

Recent acquisitions

2007:Lincolne Scott – Australia:LC Consulting – South Africa:Worthington-Smith & Brouwer (GTG) (PTY) Limited - South Africa:Chas. H. Sells, Inc. – USA:CBP Consulting Engineers AG – Germany:SEi Design Engineers - USA :CEL International Ltd - UK

2006:Ark Consulting Pty Ltd (Ark), Responsive Environmental Solutions Pty Ltd (RES) and ESH Connect Australasia Pty Ltd (RegConnect) - Australia:LC Consulting - Dubai:Environmental Strategies Consulting, LLC (ESC) - USA:Talone OÜ – Estonia

2005 :PHB Group – United Arabs Emirates

2004 :Consulting KORTES OY – Finland

2001 :Jacobson & Widmark – Sweden / LT Consultants OY and EMP Projects OY - Finland

2000 :Cantor Seinuk Group / Flack + Kurtz Consulting Engineers - USA

Notable projects

Notable projects in progress

*Freedom Tower, WSP Cantor Seinuk has been appointed as structural engineer for the tower, to be built at the World Trade Center site in downtown Manhattan. The tower will also provide a world-class model of energy efficiency and environmental sustainability and world leading levels of safety and security.cite web
url = http://www.designbuild-network.com/projects/freedom-tower-ny/
title = Freedom Tower Overview
publisher =
accessdate = 2008-04-03 ] cite web
url = http://en.structurae.de/structures/data/index.cfm?id=s0010234
title = Structures/Freedom Tower
publisher =
accessdate = 2008-04-03 ] cite web
url = http://www.wtc.com/about/freedom-tower
title = World Trade Center/Freedom Tower
publisher =
accessdate = 2008-04-03 ]

*London Bridge Tower also known as Shard of Glass is a supertall skyscraper planned for construction in London. WSP Cantor Seinuk is providing structural engineering services.cite web
url = http://www.shardlondonbridge.com/development_team/engineers.php
title = Shard / London Bridge
publisher =
accessdate = 2008-04-03 ]
*Masdar City in Abu Dhabi. WSP is developing strategies for many aspects of the design to support the zero carbon, zero waste ambition of the project.cite web
url = http://www.masdaruae.com/
title = The Masdar Initiative
publisher =
accessdate = 2008-04-03 ] The City Line in Sweden, a 6km rail tunnel under Stockholm. WSP will project manage the track, water and waste water installations for the entire length of the tunnel and also undertake rock investigation, geotechnical and construction work for the northern half of the project.
*City of Arabia in Dubai.
*Lumiere (skyscraper) is a development under construction in Leeds, England.
*MGM MIRAGE CityCenter in Las Vegas, Nevada is currently the largest construction project in the United States.

Notable completed projects

*Beetham Tower, Manchester, the tallest building in Britain outside London.
*Hungerford Bridge crosses the river Thames in London.
*Hearst Tower (New York City), the city's first Gold LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified building.
*Birmingham Bullring in Birmingham, UK.
*Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, Thailand.
*Council House 2 in Melbourne, Australia.
*The New York Times Building in New York, NY.
*Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
*30 The Bond in Sydney, Australia.
*Binh Bridge, Vietnam, opened in May 2005.
*Southern Cross Station, in Melbourne Australia.
*Royal Bank of Scotland Headquarters in Edinburgh, UK.
*Royal Shakespeare Company’s Courtyard Theatre in London, UK.
*Farnborough Business Park, UK.
*The Biogas-to-Energy project at the PetroSA refinery in Mossel Bay, South Africa.
*Gotha Tunnel in Gotenberg, Sweden.

Awards

Sustainable Building Services Awards 2007 - WSP and its company Lincolne Scott won the Major sustainable building/development of the year, the Sustainable building / development of the year and the Sustainability champion of the year.cite web
url = http://www.bsjonline.co.uk/hybrid.asp?typeCode=4&subTypeCode=14644&pubcode=45
title = Sustainable Building Services Awards 2007
publisher =
accessdate = 2008-02-21 ]

2007 CTBUH Awards - WSP won the best sustainable tall building and the best tall building award.cite web
url = http://www.ctbuh.org/Events/07awarddinner/tabid/300/Default.aspx
title = Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat 2007 Awards
publisher =
accessdate = 2008-02-21 ]

2007 Acquisitions Monthly Awards - WSP Environmetal won the Environmental Advisor of the Year award.cite web
url = http://www.24-7pressrelease.com/press-release/wsp-environmental-named-advisor-of-the-year-at-acquisitions-monthly-awards-ceremony-24101.php
title = Acquisitions Monthly 2007 Awards
publisher =
accessdate = 2008-02-21 ]

Greater Helsinki Vision 2050: International Ideas Competition - WSP Finland won this competition aimed at defining a vision for the development of the Helsinki metropolitan area up to 2050.cite web
url = http://www.greaterhelsinkivision.fi/
title = Greater Helsinki Vision 2050
publisher =
accessdate = 2008-04-03 ]

Key people

Christopher Cole C Eng - Chief Executive Officer

Chris was appointed as Managing Director of the newly-formed plc Board in 1987 when the company was listed on the London Stock Exchange.

Following initial training and education, Chris spent the first ten years of his career working for a major contracting and subsequently consultancy business. He joined WSP Group at its inception in the 1970s, becoming Managing Director of WSP’s newly formed plc Board in 1987 when the group was listed on the London Stock Exchange. He was appointed as Chief Executive in 2001.

He chairs the Performance and Strategy Committees and is responsible for both operational control and the strategic direction of the Group.

He is also Non-Executive Chairman of Ashtead Group plc.cite web
url = http://www.the-chiefexecutive.com/features/feature1050/
title = CEO magazine profile
publisher =
accessdate = 2008-04-03 ]

Malcolm Paul - Group Finance Director

Malcolm Paul is a chartered accountant who has worked in both industry and private practice.

He specializes in corporate finance and, in particular, mergers and acquisitions in the engineering sector, both as an advisor and principal.

He was one of the two founders of WSP Group plc, a leading global business providing management and design consultancy services to the built and natural environment. He is now the Group Finance Director for WSP Group plc.

WSP is quoted on the London Stock Exchange and has been built both organically and through acquisition from a base of 50 people and $5m sales in 1987, to an international business that now has 9,400 staff and sales approaching £1.5bn.

References