Artelia has acquired 100% of the shares of Leicester-headquartered Pick Everard, a major multidisciplinary player in the UK construction consultancy sector for over 150 years.
Following the acquisition of Austin Newport Group in Birmingham in 2020, and Castons in Suffolk in March 2024, Artelia accelerates its development in the UK with almost 1,000 employees. The Group consolidates its foothold in Europe where it ranks among the Top 10 construction engineering companies.
For Pick Everard, joining Artelia represents a unique opportunity to expand into new activities and markets, benefiting from the group multi-sectorial expertise and presence in over 40 countries over the 5 continents.
The Artelia Group now has over 9,700 employees worldwide to support its clients in all their projects for infrastructure, buildings and industrial facilities, as well as ecological and digital transformation.
Pick Everard’s multidisciplinary teams provide a full range of design and management services to clients across the built environment and infrastructure markets. With a strong focus on customer service and technical excellence, the firm maintains a repeat business rate of over 85%. This has led to Pick Everard enjoying a strong period of sustained growth, achieving a turnover of £71m in 2024.
Operating across both the public and private sectors, Pick Everard is a partner on over 60 live frameworks worth over £46bn. As a shareholder of Perfect Circle, Pick Everard is appointed to Scape’s Consultancy Services and Utilities Frameworks, providing efficient and flexible procurement solutions across the public and utilities sectors.
Through its trusted relationships, and framework appointments, Pick Everard has delivered services to major clients including UK Parliament, Ministry of Justice, Defence Infrastructure Organisation, Severn Trent Water, XLCC, Defence and Science Technology Laboratory, Royal Mail Group and Selfridges.
As for the historical Artelia teams in the UK, they benefit from solid experience in building engineering and project management, particularly in the healthcare, heritage, hospitality, education, retail and alternative energy sectors.
They are involved, for example, as lead multi-disciplinary consultant on the new state-of-the-art hospital for the West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust and work with the property strategy team of the Whittington Health NHS Trust to redefine maternity services in North Central London. They have also been fully embedded in a five-year development project to conserve and safeguard Canterbury Cathedral and its heritage for future generations.
On the conclusion of this acquisition, Artelia’s Chief Executive Officer Benoît Clocheret said: “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.
“By joining forces with Pick Everard, we broaden our skills in architecture and design engineering and strengthen our foothold in the UK, where we have already been present for over 20 years. 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.”
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.
“This move immediately expands our network of colleagues from over 700 people in the UK, to 9,700 people across the Artelia Group, and creates new opportunities to collaborate and share in best practice, innovation and expertise that will benefit clients world-wide.
“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. In Artelia, we have found an organisation that echoes Pick Everard’s commitment to deliver better together for its people, clients, communities and the environment.”
