KPMG has acquired the assets of the strategic management and commercial consultancy arms of High-Point Rendel, which accounts for two-thirds of the business. The terms of the transactions were not disclosed.
French consultant Ingérop took over Rendel Ltd, the traditional civil and structural engineering division of High-Point Rendel, in May.
High-Point Rendel provides construction consultancy services to clients in the energy, transportation, and oil and gas sectors. Some 35 staff from High-Point Rendel will mostly join KPMG’s Major Projects Advisory team, which itself has advised on large scale infrastructure projects across the UK and worldwide, including HS2. The new practice will be known as KPMG-HPR.
KPMG head of advisory Richard Fleming said: “Global investment in infrastructure is growing at an exponential rate, with spend predicted to reach £45bn in the UK during 2016 alone. Our clients are grappling with increasingly ambitious and complex projects, which bring with them unfamiliar risks, amplified by the additional complexity that global supply chains bring.
“The High-Point Rendel team has more than 40 years’ experience advising on some of the world’s largest and most high-profile projects, helping businesses to plan and avoid costly delays and over-runs. This acquisition marks a step-change for KPMG both in the UK and globally, enabling us to advise clients at every stage of their megaprojects, from initial planning to final delivery and through operations and maintenance, disposal or renewal.”
The new KPMG-HPR practice will be led by High-Point Rendel chief executive Kelvin Hingley and managing director Nigel Bell, together with KPMG partner Gordon Shearer. Sir Alan Cockshaw, the former Amec boss who is chairman of High-Point Rendel, has been retained by KPMG on a consultancy basis.
Sir Alan Cockshaw said: “The creation of KPMG-HPR will bring to project stakeholders a single organisation which truly understands the business and delivery challenges and risks in major capital asset undertakings, and the combination of expertise and experience to provide valuable solutions at any stage of a project life cycle. The HPR team is extremely excited about being an important part of a composite and full service global and local offering with the clear expectation of becoming the world’s premier major project advisor.”
High-Point Rendel has its roots in one of the UK’s most illustrious civil engineering firms, Rendel Palmer & Tritton. Its history dates back to 1822 when civil engineer James Meadows Rendel (1799-1856) set up office in Plymouth, from where he engineered his first major work, the Laira Bridge in Plymouth.
Rendel later moved to London where he established an office in Great George Street, Westminster, close to the building that now houses the Institution of Civil Engineers. From 1913, the company traded as the Rendel Palmer & Tritton partnership.Its more modern projects include the design of the Thames Barrier.
In 1985 Rendel Palmer & Tritton was acquired by High-Point, a specialist financial, contractual and management consultancy firm founded by Ian Reeves in 1970 in Birmingham. It was incorporated as a private company, Rendels Limited. In 1998 the company became known as High-Point Rendel and was subject to a management buy-out in 2003.
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