KPMG buys consulting arms of High-Point Rendel
In a further move to bolster its advisory business, KPMG has acquired the management consulting arms of High-Point Rendel. Roughly 35 consultants will join the Big Four firm in the UK.
High-Point Rendel is an international advisory business that provides a range of commercial, contractual, technical and management consultancy services to stakeholders engaged in major engineering, procurement and construction projects. The company was formed in 1985 following the merger of High-Point (a specialist commercial claims consultancy) and Rendel, Palmer & Tritton (a consulting engineering firm). High-Point Rendel employs more than 150 staff and is headquartered in London.
In a move designed to enhance the firm’s capability to manage very large infrastructure projects, KPMG has agreed to acquire the assets of the strategic management and commercial consultancy arms of High-Point Rendel. The deal sees 35 staff mostly join KPMG’s Major Projects Advisory team, the Big Four’s unit that provides services for large scale infrastructure projects. As part of the joining of forces, the new practice will be rebranded as KPMG-HPR.
Richard Fleming, Head of Advisory at KPMG, comments: “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.” He adds: “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.”
Leadership
The new KPMG-HPR practice will be led by High-Point Rendel CEO Kelvin Hingley and Managing Director Nigel Bell, together with Gordon Shearer, Partner at KPMG. Alan Cockshaw, Chairman of High-Point Rendel will also advise KPMG on a consultancy basis.
According to Cockshaw, the creation of KPMG-HPR will provide clients with 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.” He concludes by saying that the HPR team is “extremely excited” about being part of the KPMG family.
High-Point Rendel's Design & Engineering Services will continue their operations as Rendel. Financial terms and conditions have not been disclosed.
Big Four M&A
For KPMG the acquisition is the third in the UK advisory landscape in the time span of a few months. Last month KPMG acquired London-based management consultancy Boxwood (55 consultants), and in May the firm purchased Nunwood (80 advisors). According to data from Source, the Big Four have in the last two and a half years been involved with over 75 acquisitions and alliances, with KPMG completing more than 30 deals.
