 | |
| Company type | Private (1938–2017) Subsidiary (2017–2023) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Construction, design, engineering and business services |
| Founded | 1938 |
| Founder | Sir William Atkins |
| Defunct | 2017 |
| Fate | Bought by SNC-Lavalin |
| Successor | AtkinsRéalis |
| Headquarters | Nova North,London, England |
Number of locations | Offices in 28 countries |
Key people | Philip Hoare (President) |
| Services | Consultancy services |
| Revenue | £2.081 billion (2017)[1] |
| £171.5 million (2017)[1] | |
| £164.6 million (2017)[1] | |
Number of employees | 18,300 (March 2017)[1] |
| Subsidiaries | Faithful+Gould |
Atkins was a Britishmultinational construction,design,engineering and business services company. It was formerly listed on the London Stock exchange and had aLondon headquarters. In July 2017 the company was bought by SNC-Lavalin a £2.1 billion deal.[2][3] The new group was subsequently renamedAtkinsRéalis in 2023.
The company was founded as W. S. Atkins & Partners bySir William Atkins in 1938. It experienced rapid growth following theSecond World War, performing specialist services intown planning, engineering sciences,architecture andproject management. The firm was admitted to theLondon Stock Exchange in 1996, trading under the name WS Atkins plc for a time before rebranding as Atkins during 2002. While Atkins largely focused on the UK market during its formative years, it has grown into an international firm with a global presence, as well as expanded into a wide range of sectors, includingaerospace andhigh speed railways.
By 2016, Atkins had become the UK's largest engineering consultancy, as well as the world's 11th largest global design firm.[4] It employed approximately 18,000 staff based in 300 offices across 29 countries and had undertaken projects in over 150 countries. The firm's motto was "Plan, Design, Enable".
The original company, W. S. Atkins & Partners, was established byWilliam Atkins in 1938.[5][6] The venture was not Atkin's only business endeavour, having acquired London Ferro-Concrete from his prior employers; he continued to actively manage both firms up until 1950.[7] In its formative years, the firm established its first offices inWestminster, London and specialised in civil and structural engineering design and consultancy work.[5][6] Throughout theSecond World War, the company developed a reputation for competently performing complex engineering works assigned to it despite the unavoidable wartime pressures and limitations that were imposed. Amongst other works, Atkins developed apatentedanti-aircraft turret during this period.[5]
In the aftermath of the conflict, the firm expanded rapidly to support thepostwar reconstruction effort, supplying specialist services intown planning, engineering sciences,architecture andproject management.[7][6] During 1945, Atkins was invited to consult on the planned expansion of thePort Talbot Steelworks and subsequently acted as the civil and structural design engineer for the project. In 1950, Atkins opted to discontinue contracting work to concentrate on design engineering and project management work.[5] During the 1950s, the firm became involved in the engineering of theBerkeley Nuclear Power Station, which became the first exclusively civilian nuclear power station in the UK upon its completion; the company continued to be active in the nuclear sector both domestically and abroad.[5] In the 1960s, Atkins provided tunneling designed for the fledglingToronto subway network. During the 1970s, the company supported the construction ofDrax Power Station, the largest power generation facility in the UK.[5]
Up until 1982, the year in which he retired, William Akins served as the company's chairman.[5][6] In 1996, W. S. Atkins was admitted to theLondon Stock Exchange and began trading as W. S. Atkins plc. That same year, it also acquiredFaithful+Gould, a cost and project management consultancy firm.[8] Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, Atkins played a key role in the engineering of theChannel Tunnel; completed in 1994, it possesses the longest underwater section of any tunnel in the world.[9][5] During the late 1990s, WS Atkins performed work on theBurj al Arab hotel, which was completed in 1999.[10]
In 2002, the company begun trading under the Atkins name. That same year, it also bought Hanscomb, construction consultants.[11] During the early 2000s, the company experienced a period of financial difficulties, resulting in the share price falling to 50p in 2002[12] and the company's Chief Executive,Robin Southwell, resigning along with Finance Director Ric Piper, who was also told his new job atTrinity Mirror was no longer open to him.[13] Keith Clarke replaced him, joining fromSkanska.[14]
Atkins was one of the five shareholders inMetronet, theLondon Underground maintenance company that failed in 2007, after which Atkins was forced to write off its investment in the venture.[15] During 2009, Atkins was selected as the official engineering design services provider for the2012 Summer Olympics; the company providedbuilding services design,civil engineering andstructural engineering, acoustics,fire protection engineering, and accessibility services.[16][17]
As a consequence of the general economic downturn experienced during theGreat Recession, Atkins reduced its headcount as a cost-saving measure; approximately 3000 staff left the business between April 2009 and February 2011, although the overall headcount remained relatively stable following the acquisition of the American company PBS&J during August 2010.[18][19] The purchase of PBS&J, a Florida-based provider of engineering, planning, architecture, construction, environmental, and program management services, was viewed as a major buy into theNorth American market for Atkins.[20]
Although Atkins had not traditionally involved itself in the aerospace sector, the firm decided to build up its presence in the market, quickly forming links with British aero engine manufacturerRolls-Royce Holdings and the multinational aerospace firmAirbus.[17][21] Its first major aerospace project was to perform a stress-check analysis of the wing proposed for theAirbus A380 airliner, later expanding to perform work on the wings of theAirbus A320 andAirbus A350 XWB airliners as well as theAirbus A400M Atlas military airlifter. Atkins was reportedly keen to expand within the North American region, particularly withBoeing and its supply chain.[17] By 2011, roughly 500 staff around the globe were working in the aerospace sector; Atkins divisional managing director Neil Kirk noted the firm's plans to expand and double turnover from this sector over the following three to four years.[17]
Atkins has also been highly active in the engineering ofhigh speed railways.[22] The company's own analysis noted that Europe's high speed rail network was expected to expand three-fold between 2008 and 2020, while passenger rail travel in the UK was growing far faster than official forecasts had predicted.[23] In 2001, the UK'sStrategic Rail Authority commissioned Atkins to produce a feasibility study into the business case for, and the transportation impact of, high-speed railways.[24] During January 2011, an Atkins-led consortium was selected to engineer a 180 km high speed line between theDanish capital ofCopenhagen and the German border.[25] In April 2019, the company was appointed to planSweden's first high speed main line.[26]
In June 2011, Atkins announced it was buying theoil and gas business of Finnish global consulting firmPöyry for €17.25 million; as a result of this acquisition, around 130 staff from Pöyry'sPerth,Stavanger andAberdeen offices integrated into Atkins' Energy business unit.[27] During October 2014, Houston-based oil and gas offshore engineering businessHouston Offshore Engineering was acquired for £45 million, added another 150 people to the business and increased the headcount of oil and gas specialists to over 1,000 within its operations worldwide.[28] That same year, Atkins had made a bid to purchaseParsons Brinckerhoff fromBalfour Beatty, but were outbid byWSP Global.[29] In April 2016, the company announced the acquisition of the Projects, Products and Technology (PP&T) segment ofEnergySolutions for £206 million, strengthening Atkins' nuclear multidisciplinary capability to a 2,000-strong global team.[30]
During April 2017, Atkins received a £2.1bn bid from Canadian companySNC-Lavalin. On 21 April, it was announced that the takeover deal had been agreed;[31] the move was approved by shareholders in June 2017. This step coincided with news of 92 redundancies in the company's infrastructure division.[32] The deal was completed on 3 July 2017, with Atkins becoming SNC-Lavalin's fifth business sector.[33] Atkins was delisted from the London Stock Exchange with effect from 4 July 2017.[34]
During theCOVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, Atkins announced it was cutting around 280 jobs from its UK infrastructure division, blaming "unprecedented uncertainty" in the sector from which it did not expect to see a bounce back "in the short to medium term."[35]
Atkins providesengineering, design, business and digital consultancy services in various regions:[36]
Atkins also has an Energy business providing engineering and project management services.[36]
Atkins' notable past and current projects include:
Asia Pacific
Europe (ex. United Kingdom)
Middle East
North America
United Kingdom
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