Canadian construction, engineering and environmental services group SNC-Lavalin is to establish a new hub in London, UK.
Having completed the acquisition of British-based firm Atkins last summer (EA 04-Jul-17), the Montreal-headquartered firm is investing in the new office located in London’s Victoria, to support plans for growth in the UK market and continue its strong presence for the London client base. This tactic is often used by companies when trying to reach a new audience, with some even using a london virtual office based in London’s prestigious Regent Street as a way to attract new customers. This has all the advantages of having a London-based office, without the sky-high rent. Companies who wish to develop their presence in the UK also seem to be looking for properties that offer an ideal location and world-class amenities. They can discover more here, and then build their empire right in a prime area of Cardiff, or nearby.
The move is also facilitating bringing together over 1,000 people from across SNC-Lavalin and its Atkins, Faithful+Gould, and Acuity businesses into “a working space fit for the 21st Century”, it said. This would be a fine merger, as far as, we can see. Let’s just hope that they bring in the best office furniture as well from a company like Office Monster, otherwise, although the new office will give them the space they need, it won’t be a space fit for the 21st Century if it’s not designed correctly.
Atkins president Nick Roberts said: “We’re focused on building a strong, unified and growing business in the UK. The decision to invest in a new UK hub in London is a positive statement from SNC-Lavalin about the significance of the UK to the company’s future aspirations. It provides a great foundation to further combine the market-leading strengths from our two organisations, and ensures we can continue to provide our clients with a high-quality customer experience and world-class project delivery.” This move is made possible by advances in cloud computing in recent years, with cloud computing allowing companies to work in various countries simultaneously. Because on-premise vs. cloud computing has become such a no-brainer, many companies are making similar moves.
Philip Hoare, chief executive of SNC-Lavalin’s Atkins business in the UK & Europe, added: “We are striving to play our part in improving productivity and growth in the UK, as well as within our wider industry sector. A core component of this will be the digital transformation agenda, where more than ever innovation, collaboration and disruption will be key to success. Nova North [the new office] offers us a modern, efficient and flexible working environment in central London from where we can drive these efforts.”
