The acquisition doubles the size of Systra’s operations in the UK and Ireland.
TSP Projects is a multidisciplinary engineering firm founded in York in 1987, originally as part of British Rail. Last year, under British Steel ownership, it made a pre-tax profit of £1.3m on revenue of nearly £34m. However the recent collapse of its parent company put the future of the business in jeopardy.
The deal was agreed with the Official Receiver, which has been managing British Steel since it went into compulsory liquidation in May.
Systra is majority owned by French state-owned local and national rail operators RATP and SNCF. Its chief operating officer is Andrew McNaughton, the former Balfour Beatty chief executive. Previous UK acquisitions include SIAS Transport Planners in 2016 and JMP Consultants Ltd in 2015.
Systra said that it was “committed to driving TSP Projects’ expansion in sectors outside transportation, including energy from waste, modular construction and security”.
Pascal Mercier, chief executive of Systra Ltd,said: “As the signature team for transportation solutions, Systra is committed to providing clients with truly specialist expertise, delivered locally. This acquisition is a game-changer for our UK & Ireland business, placing us among the leading UK consulting engineering firms. This is a good fit between two like-minded companies with a shared commitment to excellence, safety and innovation.”
TSP Projects chief executive Craig Scott added: “This is a great opportunity for TSP Projects staff, clients and partners. Systra is a like-minded organisation with similar values and a focus on technical excellence. Systra ownership will bring with it all the benefits of a global engineering business including access to high calibre technical expertise to complement and enhance TSP Projects.”
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