Scott Wilson Group

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Scott Wilson

Type	PLC
Founded	1951
Headquarters	Basingstoke, United Kingdom, 78 Offices worldwide, of which 39 are in the UK
Key people	Geoff French, Chairman, Hugh Blackwood and Ron Wall, Joint Group Chief Executives
Industry	Construction and business services
Revenue	£185.92 million (2006)[1]
Employees	>5000
Website	www.scottwilson.com

The Scott Wilson Group is a United Kingdom-based civil engineering consultancy. Founded in 1951 through a merger of earlier engineering firms, it was listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2006, and is engaged on projects around the world.

1 History
2 Present Day
3 Key Projects
4 External links

[edit] History

The Scott Wilson Group was established as Scott & Wilson, Kirkpatrick & Partners in 1951 through the merger of consulting engineering firms Sir Cyril Kirkpatrick & Partners, founded in 1924, and Scott & Wilson, founded in 1945.

Sir Cyril Kirkpatrick, Chief Engineer for the Port of London, and his partners were renowned for expertise in civil engineering projects which included: power stations, sea defences, and the design and construction of the concrete caissons which formed the Mulberry Harbour to facilitate the D Day landings.

Scott & Wilson benefited from the expertise of two talented engineers: William Scott and Dr. Guthlac Wilson. Between them they were responsible for such notable projects as the design of the Chiswick and Twickenham bridges over the Thames and perhaps their best-known achievement is the Royal Festival Hall in London.

Scott Wilson became the corporate name in 1997. The Group has expanded organically through a series of acquisitions of former government agencies and of private companies. Of these, a significant event was in 1995 when the Group purchased two of the five former British Rail engineering design offices in Swindon and Glasgow. At the time of their acquisition, these businesses employed approximately 200 staff. Since acquisition, these businesses have been transformed to become the core of the current Scott Wilson UK Railways Division.

Further niche acquisitions followed with the environmental consultancy Cobham Resource Consultants in 1996, Peel & Fowler in May 2002, who provided an entry into the growing health and education property markets, and Knight Pièsold in September 2002, specialising in international power and mining which has allowed the Group to expand in the natural resources sector.

[edit] Present Day

The Group operates in four principal market sectors: transportation, property, environment and natural resources. Scott Wilson employs over 5,000 staff worldwide, and the group was ranked as the ninth largest UK-based engineering consultant in the New Civil Engineer 2005 annual survey.