SLR buys sustainability specialists Carnstone and Ibis Consulting
SLR Consulting has clinched its third and fourth UK acquisitions in the space of a year, with the addition of Carnstone and Ibis Consulting. The additions see a team of 150 staff join SLR Consulting in 10+ countries.
With more than 2,000 employees, serving clients across 20+ countries globally, SLR Consulting is a global sustainability consultancy headquartered in the UK. Since receiving new backing from financial investor Ares Capital Management, the firm has been rapidly upscaling its capacity via recruitment campaigns, and a stream of acquisitions.
The latest of these has seen SLR add London-headquartered sustainability and ESG consultancy Carnstone to its ranks. A provider of advice and support to large companies and international institutions, the firm has a 45-strong team based in UK, France, China, and Singapore – specialising in climate change, human rights, inequality and biodiversity loss across supply chains.
Neil Penhall, SLR’s CEO, said, “Carnstone’s experience in supporting large companies to address social, environmental and climate issues in their corporate strategies and supply chains, as well as their experience in supporting sectors such as pharmaceuticals and media to deliver their sustainability commitments will greatly enhance SLR’s commitment to making sustainability happen.”
According to a release from SLR, the addition of Carnstone was led by the need to increase capacity in ESG services, and support some of the world’s largest companies to transition to being sustainable businesses, particularly in its European and Asian regions, where both companies have clients.
Meanwhile, the move offers up chances for Carnstone to offer its own clients access to more services, more technical expertise, and geographical coverage to address the sustainability imperatives they face.
Simon Hodgson, Director and Senior Partner at Carnstone, commented, “We are very excited to now be part of SLR. For our staff, this move offers greater opportunity for growth and development. The fit between our two organisations is excellent both in terms of cultural alignment and expertise, and the resulting ESG/sustainability consulting offering team will, we think, be market leading in terms of both scope and scale.”
Ibis Consulting
At the same time, SLR has also clinched a deal to bring emerging market ESG advisory specialist Ibis into the fold. Headquartered in Kent, UK, Ibis hosts a 100-strong team of professionals in South Africa, Kenya, Morocco, Egypt, Singapore, Hong Kong, Canada, UK, and France.
The firm works with development financial institutions, private equity investors, banks, export credit agencies, asset managers, impact investors and venture capital firms as they transition to ESG and impact-focused strategies, and is Africa's largest provider of sustainability data and assurance services.
Speaking on the second deal, Penhall added, "The acquisition adds a specialist sustainable finance lens to SLR’s growing corporate ESG advisory capability. It will complement and build upon SLR’s existing capabilities, resulting in one of the largest global ESG advisory teams.”
The acquisition of Ibis was motivated by a desire to add a specialist sustainable finance lens to SLR’s corporate ESG advisory capability. As the firm looks to set itself apart from its rivals, it has now assembled one of the largest teams of senior ESG and impact experts globally. Meanwhile, Ibis will grow its global reach by partnering with the larger organisation.
Ibis CEO Jeremy Soboil stated, “SLR’s people-focused culture and trusted reputation with their clients strongly resonates with our vision and values. We also recognise that SLR’s technical rigour and depth of expertise, coupled with their global reach, can complement and enhance our offerings to the financial sector. We have looked hard for the right partner and believe it is now the time to take the next step in our evolution as a business.”
The news follows two other deals completed by SLR in the last year. Most recently, it purchased RCS Global in October 2022. And in June 2022, SLR purchased ClearLead Consulting, an energy and sustainability consultancy with offices in the UK and Ireland.
Earlier this month, SLR Consulting was named one of the UK’s leading sustainability consulting firms.
