Movement Strategies joins engineering consultancy GHD in London
Analytics specialist Movement Strategies has been purchased by global consultancy GHD Group for an undisclosed fee. The move will strengthen GHD’s proposition in the global environmental consulting market, adding new and specialist asset proficiency, including sport and events expertise.
Founded in London in 2005, Movement Strategies has grown into the largest specialist crowd and people movement consultancy in the world. The company works on challenging and high-profile engagements, including mega-events such as the FIFA World Cup, iconic sites such as Mecca and Tower of London, and key transport hubs such as the metro systems of Melbourne, London and Hong Kong.
As the global profile of Movement Strategies has continued to grow, thanks to the notoriety of its work, the company has drawn the attention of many potential suitors. This has culminated in £1.1 billion engineering consultancy GHD moving to acquire Movement Strategies in a deal which adds 35 Movement Strategies team members in London to the 600 GHD employees in Europe and Middle East region. GHD has a global headcount of more than 10,000.
Simon Ancliffe, Founder and Chairman of Movement Strategies, said of the news, “We are hugely excited to be joining GHD. The alignment of our cultures and strategies means that we can rapidly leverage our capabilities globally, and realise the potential of leading consulting, data analytics and digital solutions. GHD’s long-term thinking and employee ownership model and commitment to its staff, made the company the right partner for us.”
GHD is one of the globe’s leading professional services companies, operating in the markets of water, energy and resources, environment, property and buildings, and transportation. The employee-owned group delivers engineering, environmental and construction services to public and private sector clients across five continents in the Pacific region. In line with this, GHD also hopes that the deal for Movement Strategies will help it better meet the changing needs of clients and communities by integrating strategic advisory, technical service excellence, and digital solutions.
Simon Light, GHD’s Executive Managing Director, EMEA, commented, “The complexity of challenges in the natural and built environment are driving a need for a deeper understanding of issues being faced. We believe that the integration of data-led consultancy and leading technical services delivered by exceptional people and through digital technologies, will best deliver the needs of our clients. GHD and Movement Strategies provide a highly complementary fit, further strengthening our ability to deliver a positive impact in all our communities.”
