Last updated 21 February 2023
AKT II
AKT II – formerly known as Adams Kara Taylor – is a consulting civil and structural engineer. The group was founded in 1996 by Hanif Kara, Albert Williamson-Taylor and Robin Adams, and has a reputation for working on high-profile projects and for blue chip clients. The group employs more than 300 people, turns over £27 million a year and has worked in 44 countries around the world since 1996.
The ultimate controlling shareholder of the group is now the Swedish engineering group Tyrens.
Financials
The most recent results available for the 2021 calendar year show turnover falling back by 11% to £27.4 million (2020: £30.9 million), and profitability has suffered.
At an operating level, slumped rose to £1.6 million (2018: £2.0 million) and pre-tax profits fell to £1.3 million (2020: £2.0 million).
To view the financials for AKT II, visit Companies House and use Company ID 07500271.
Operations
In 2006, the original AKT company was bought by rival consultants White Young Green (WYG) for £10.5 million. In April 2011, the management of AKT bought out the company in a deal backed by Swedish consultant Tyrens AB in a deal that valued the business at £3.75 million. The new group was re-named AKT II and has its headquarters are at Clerkenwell in central London.
The projects that AKT II works on are mainly in the commercial, education, health, leisure, residential, retail and transport sectors. Since its formation in 1996, the company’s clients have ranged from commercial developers such as Derwent London, Greystar Europe, Helical Bar and Standard Life to the Crown Estate and major retail clients including John Lewis and public bodies such as Historic England.
The group works on projects from £100,00 to £1 billion, on major infrastructure projects such as Crossrail, significant residential projects for clients such as 2020 Developments and the English Cities Fund and in other sectors such as education for the University of Oxford.
The group’s overseas commissions have been in countries including Abu Dhabi, China, Egypt, Ghana, India, Singapore and Turkey. More than 300 projects that AKT II has worked on since 1997 have won major design awards, including the 2000 Stirling Prize for Peckham Library, the RIBA Manser Medal in 2010 for Hunsett Mill, the RIBA Lubetkin Prize 2010 for the UK pavilion at the Shanghai Expo in China and the Sainsbury Laboratory, which won the 2012 Stirling Prize.
Glenigan Data
AKT II aims at the high-end of the market and works on a number of flagship projects, particularly in and around London. These range from the £72.5 million Mount Pleasant development in London (Project ID: 20389516) to £450 million EDGE London Bridge (Project ID: 19015864).
Conclusion: Challenges ahead
AKT II has endured a difficult period as rises in labour and materials have created volatility in the construction market in the latest reported trading period and the impact of the 2022 period may be some way off being updated.
A compulsory strike-off action had been launched at Companies House on October 12 2021, as accounts for 2019 due to be filed by December 31 2020 were not filed. The company faced being dissolved but the action was withdrawn the next day and a director, Klas Henrik Rewelj, resigned a week later.
Simon Giles was subsequently installed as the new managing director of the Tyréns Group, which comprises AKT II, HilsonMoran and Tyrens UK. Accounts for 2019 finally surfaced on 18 November 2021. The 2021 accounts appeared slightly more rapidly but show retreat on all key financial measures.
The group had grown in revenue terms after being sold by WYG to a management buy-out in 2011, when the business had a turnover of £12.3 million, made operating profits of £600,000 and employed 120 people and has more than doubled in size on all those measures, despite the recent falls.
AKT II continues to work on, win and vie for major commissions, such as the £250 million 1 Appold Street commercial scheme in London (Project ID: 23007268) to the £1.7 billion ABP Royal Albert Dock development (Project ID: 11182982).
AKT II had grown overseas work, which increased by 198% in 2017 as new commissions were won on high profile projects such as the Sberbank Technopark scheme in Russia, but foreign revenue subsequently diminished in the wake of Brexit.
UK work fell back to £23.8 million (2020: £26.2 million), overseas work fell to £3.6 million (2020: £4.6 million) As a proportion of group revenue, overseas turnover reduced to 13% (2020: 18%) and any aspirations to grow in this area were not helped by the coronavirus pandemic.
The group had previously invest in staff but in the latest year sought to cut costs and the average number of employees was trimmed to 324 people (2020: 346 people), which cut the wage bill to £16.9 million (2020: £18.1 million) and the cash position improved.
Cash at the bank and in hand rose to £1.6 million (2020; £0.8 million) and debts due within the year fell back to £21.1 million (2020: £22.9 million) although net assets slipped to £9.4 million (2020: £9.7 million).
The input from the Swedish backers behind the buy-out is clear with Dag Wingstrand and Christian Lindfors appointed to the AKT II board in April 2013. With the backing of Tyrens, AKT II is in a good position to grow overseas but the focus on major blue-chip projects and high-end clients means only a handful of projects go through both planning and construction procurement each year.
Winning Work With AKT II
The group believes that close working relationships with the construction end of the supply chain is vital. AKT II aims to establish ‘fluid channels of communication’ between the client and contractor through the delivery of projects and to work particularly closely with fabricators.
Key AKT II procurement contacts include:
Technical director – Alessandro Margnelli, tel: 020-7250-7777