Scott Wilson Group

Scott Wilson Group plc
Public limited company
Industry Support Services Consultancy (includes civil and structural engineering)
Fate Acquired by URS Corporation
Founded 1951 (1951)
Defunct 2010 (2010)
Headquarters London, United Kingdom
Revenue £360 million (2009)
£10.7 million (2009)

Scott Wilson Group plc was a global integrated design and engineering consultancy with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. Founded as a civil engineering firm in 1951, the company broadened its range of services through acquisitions. Scott Wilson offered consultancy and professional services in the railways, buildings and infrastructure, environment and natural resources and roads sectors, and at its peak employed 5,500 people in 80 offices worldwide. Scott Wilson became a public limited company in 2006, and in 2010 was purchased by the American firm URS Corporation. In 2014, yet another American firm AECOM purchased URS corporation. Therefore, Scottwilson is now part of AECOM.

History

Sir Cyril Kirkpatrick (1872–1957) was Chief Engineer to the Port of London Authority from 1913 to 1924, when he established his own firm specialising in docks, harbours and sea defences. During the Second World War Kirkpatrick advised on the construction of the concrete caissons which formed the Mulberry Harbour that facilitated the D-Day landings.[1] In 1945 engineers William Scott and Dr Guthlac Wilson founded a partnership. Between them they were responsible for the design of the Chiswick and Twickenham Bridges over the Thames in 1933,[2] and the Royal Festival Hall in London.[3] The two firms merged in 1951, forming Scott & Wilson, Kirkpatrick & Partners.[2]

In the late 1960s Scott Wilson Kirkpatrick & Partners was responsible for engineering works on the M6 Motorway through the Lune Gorge in north-west England.[4] The firm grew through acquisitions over the following decades. In 1995, on the privatisation of British Rail, the company purchased two of the former engineering design offices in Swindon and Glasgow. Other acquisitions were in the fields of environmental consultancy, health and education property, power and mining, landscape design and engineering.[2]

In 1997 the firm adopted the name Scott Wilson, and it floated on the London Stock Exchange on 15 March 2006. The company acquired the civil engineering specialist Benaim Enterprise in 2008 for £5.5 million.[5]

On 10 September 2010, American engineering design firm URS Corporation completed its acquisition of Scott Wilson Group plc.[6] Scott Wilson Group plc is no longer listed in the London Stock Exchange. Scott Wilson rebranded initially as "URS-Scott Wilson",[7] though the Scott Wilson name was dropped in the UK, Ireland, Europe and the Middle East in 2012,[8] and in India in 2013.[9]

At the time of the acquisition, Scott Wilson Group had 5,500 employees in 80 offices, mainly located in the UK, Europe, India, the Asia-Pacific region, and the Middle East. The Group's regional main offices were in London, Hong Kong, Warsaw, New Delhi, Bahrain and Dubai.[10]

Projects

Scott Wilson Group was involved in a large number of high-profile engineering projects worldwide.

References

  1. ↑ "Obituary: Sir Cyril Reginald Sutton Kirkpatrick 1872–1957". ICE Proceedings. 1 January 1958. pp. 127–128.
  2. 1 2 3 "History". URS/Scott Wilson. Archived from the original on 8 November 2011.
  3. ↑ "Royal Festival Hall". Engineering Timelines. Retrieved 8 November 2013.
  4. ↑ "M6 motorway through Lune Gorge". Engineering Timelines. Retrieved 8 November 2013.
  5. ↑ Dunne, Mark (24 July 2008). "Scott Wilson builds bridges with Benaim Enterprise acquisition". www.growthbusiness.co.uk. Vitesse Media plc. Retrieved 2015-10-08.
  6. ↑ "http://www.ursglobal.com/press/pressroom.php?pid=245". URS Corporation. 10 September 2010. Archived from the original on 8 November 2013. External link in |title= (help)
  7. ↑ "Unlocking the potential - URS/Scott Wilson at MIPIM 2011". URS Corporation. 7 March 2011. Archived from the original on 8 November 2013.
  8. ↑ "URS SCOTT WILSON BECOMES URS". URS Corporation. 9 January 2012. Archived from the original on 8 November 2013.
  9. ↑ "URS extends global brand to its India operations". URS Corporation. 22 February 2013. Archived from the original on 8 November 2013.
  10. ↑ "Working here". URS/Scott Wilson. Archived from the original on 8 November 2011.
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