Professional services and engineering consultancy, WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff in Leeds has expanded its team by almost 40% in 2016, thanks to a number of high profile project wins and the global business’s acquisition of Mouchel Consulting, which has a significant presence in the city.
The White Rose office park-based business now employs more than 380 staff, having recruited 40 new team members to the business as part of an ongoing strategic growth drive. New senior hires include transport planning specialist Simon Pratt, who joins the business as technical director in the development team, from his previous role as operations manager of the development team at Aecom.
The acquisition in November of Mouchel, a specialist infrastructure consultancy, adds a further 63 staff to the Leeds workforce. Over the next 12 months, the business will be fully integrated to combine resources for project delivery and bidding opportunities. The power partnership will merge Mouchel’s expertise in highways, environment, intelligent transport systems and water sectors with WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff’s growing multi-discipline offering for both public and private sector clients.
Key project wins for the Leeds team in 2016 include a major study to improve 22 train stations in South Yorkshire as part of the South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (SYPTE) framework, and the White Rose Shopping Centre leisure extension. The business also celebrated the official completion of Central Square in Leeds, having provided civil and structural engineering, geotechnical, highways and vertical transportation services for the iconic high rise scheme.
Comments Charlotte Woodworth, location director at WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff in Leeds: “This has been an outstanding year of growth for the Leeds business. Not only have we welcomed a number of senior hires to the team that bring with them global expertise which our clients can draw on locally, but we’ve also recruited many new apprentices and graduates to ensure that the next generation of skilled engineers is nurtured and retained in the region.
“As our workforce grows, so too does the breadth of our services. With the Government’s commitment to infrastructure and development investment across the North in this year’s Autumn Statement, and its renewed backing of the Northern Powerhouse agenda, we predict that 2017 will be a milestone year for the region. Our recent expansion puts us in a prime position to help our clients harness the opportunities presented in a whole raft of sectors, from high speed rail and highways, to energy and aviation.”