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.”

Premium coffee house brand Caffè Nero has purchased Nottingham-based coffee brand 200 Degrees. Founded in 2012 in Nottingham by Rob Darby and Tom Vincent, 200 Degrees has grown into a 21-store Midlands-based coffee brand. In addition to stores, the business has its own roastery and operates an online e-commerce channel selling directly to customers at home, including a subscription offering. 200 Degrees also operates a wholesale arm, serving over 500 wholesale customers. 200 Degrees joins The Nero Group and will sit alongside the Group’s other brands: Caffè Nero, Coffee#1, Harris+Hoole and Aroma, making it the fifth brand in the Group. The Nero Group aims to expand the 200 Degrees brand as part of its growth strategy in the UK. The Nero Group Founder and Group CEO Gerry Ford said: “I’m delighted to welcome 200 Degrees into the Caffè Nero family. It is a fantastic brand with an emphasis on great coffee and service combined with a local community-based feel which matches perfectly the ethos of The Nero Group. “200 Degrees has a solid, loyal customer base and has developed a strong regional position. Our intention is to support 200 Degrees to continue its growth journey and allow the brand to operate separately alongside the other brands in The Nero Group.” 200 Degrees’ Managing Director Stephen Fern said: “We are thrilled that the strong market position and growth potential of 200 Degrees has been recognised within the sector, and we are excited to see where our brand can go now that we have become part of The Nero Group family. “The Nero Group is a great partner for us with its commitment to premium coffee and its strong values as a family-owned company. 200 Degrees itself is a premium brand with a commitment to delivering great experiences. “The four pillars of our business – our shops, wholesale, e-commerce platform and barista schools – have been bringing better coffee to millions of people across the UK for the last 12 years, delivering excellent customer service and a commitment to breaking down the barriers within speciality coffee. “With this new partnership, we look forward to introducing even more people to our beans, our people and our passion for creating experiences to remember.”

Storal has acquired Long Eaton-headquartered Children 1st group. Founded in 1988 by Margaret Mason OBE, Children 1st operates 24 nurseries and a training centre in the Midlands and South Yorkshire. Margaret has been one of the leading lights in Early Years education for more than three decades – earning an OBE for her commitment to raising standards in Early-years education. She will continue her work with children through her charity, The Margaret Mason Children 1^st Trust, which supports children and families in her local community. Speaking about her decision to sell to Storal, Margaret said: “I can’t imagine it in better hands. It’s been my focus for so many years and I’m delighted that it will continue to flourish under Storal’s management. “I’m so proud of the amazing and experienced team who have built Children 1st alongside me for so long, and I’m confident that Sarah is the right person to lead them and the business into the future, with her experience and long-term commitment to delivering quality provision and team wellbeing. “I also know from our discussions that Storal share our core values, and has the backing and resources to move what we’ve built at Children 1st forward.” Of the acquisition, which will see 23 of the Children 1^st nurseries join Storal, Sarah Mackenzie, Chief Executive of Storal, said: “I’ve been following Children 1st for many years. Throughout my career, I’ve looked to Children 1st as one of the great pioneers of high-quality early-years education in the sector. “I have enormous admiration for everything Margaret has built and believe she has created an everlasting legacy – both at Children 1^st and in the wider sector. After 36 years, she is now handing the reins to us, and this isn’t a responsibility we take lightly. “We want to create more milestones in their Magic Story and continue her pioneering work in the sector, supporting and fighting for the teams of educators around the UK who deliver such vital work, and the families, children and communities we serve.” With the addition of Children 1st’s nurseries, Storal’s enlarged group will become one of the largest nursery groups in the sector, offering over 5,000 places across 56 Ofsted registered settings which they operate as 53 nurseries.