Last updated 22 February 2023
Atkins
Atkins is one of the largest multi-disciplinary consultants in the world. Established in 1938 by Sir William Atkins, the company originally specialised in civil and structural engineering design. After World War Two, Atkins expanded into a range of other specialist services and in 1996 became one of the first major engineering consultancies to float on the London stock market.
In the summer of 2017, Atkins was acquired for £2.1 billion by Canadian group SNC-Lavalin, which employs 38,000 people around the world. Atkins works across the UK, North America, Middle East, Asia Pacific and Europe, employs 7,000 people and turns over more than £1 billion a year.
Financials
In the 2021 calendar year, turnover at Atkins rose to £1,013.4 million (2020: £869.3 million) and after a fall in the previous year operating profits rebounded to £61.6 million (2020: £57.2 million). Before tax, profits also rose, increasing to £58.3 million (2020: £49.7 million).
To view the financials for Atkins Limited, visit Companies House and use Company ID 00688424.
Operations
With headquarters at Epsom in Surrey, Atkins operates on a decentralised basis through business segments covering design and engineering solutions; highways and transportation; rail; the Middle East, China and Europe; management and project services; and asset management.
The group’s brands include Atkins; project and cost management consultancies Faithful + Gould; Peter Brown, which provides construction management at-risk and design-build services to public and private clients in the US; and N.triple, a business providing consultancy and engineering services to countries developing nuclear power.
The UK remains the core business and the group’s expertise in civil engineering has also brought a shift into construction management.
The group works for a range of clients from county councils in Oxfordshire and Somerset and utilities such as Severn Trent and Thames Water on the AMP6 programmes. The group is on numerous long-term framework agreements for public sector clients from county councils to the Highways England’s £49.7 million East Region Design Services Consultancy (Project ID: 19104302).
Transportation continued to provide the largest income in 2021 with revenue rising 44.1% to £447.0 million (2020: £372.1 million). In the UK, Atkins has a heavy exposure to roads and rail schemes and works for most of the UK construction industry’s biggest blue chip clients ranging from Network Rail to the Highways Agency. The group is attached to major schemes such as the £254 million improvements scheme at unction 10 of the M5 in Gloucestershire (Project ID: 20170822).
The Ministry of Defence is also a key client and turnover from aerospace, defence, security and technology rose 19.5% to £197.9 million to overtake infrastructure work as the second largest source of income (2021: £160.8 million). Revenue from infrastructure work still rose by 17.3% in 2021 to £197.9 million (2020: £162.6 million).
Atkins works in the nuclear sector on major projects such as the £17 billion Wylfa B reactor in Gwynedd (Project ID: 09130346) and for Rolls-Royce on its small modular reactor programme. In 2021, nuclear turnover rose 9.4% to £94.8 million (2020: £86.0 million). Turnover from oil and gas fell again, this time halving to £7.6 million (2020: £16.5 million), while internal trade revenue firmed at £71.1 million (2020: £70.5 million). Income at Faithful & Gould was £19.9 million.
Glenigan Data
In 2022, Glenigan’s research shows Atkins attached to £398.7 million-worth of UK roads projects (2021: £432.2 million). Atkins was also attached as mechanical & electrical consultant to £145.4 million-worth of UK projects, which went to main contract award in 2022 (2021: £8.0 million).
Conclusion: Bedding down
Atkins is one of the UK’s leading infrastructure consultants but changes are slowly emerging in the wake of Lavalin’s acquisition and these may be accelerated by the economic climate, the impact of the war in Ukraine and rising material and labour costs. In 2021, operating margins slipped back to 7.0% (2020: 7.8%) and could be further impacted in 2022 once accounts emerge.
Glenigan’s data also shows a resurgence in M&E consulting work in 2022, but transport plays a major role in the group’s fortunes. Atkins was ranked 13th in Network Rail’s Top 20 suppliers in 2022 with spending of £113 million (2021: £112 million).
The UK government’s roads investment programme will also boost transportation work. Atkins is already attached to many major roads schemes, such as the £250 million M25 Junction 10 to A3 Wisley Interchange (Project ID: 14429880) and also working, along with consultants Jacobs and PwC on the government’s roads investment strategy for 2025 to 2030.
Internationally, Atkins changed its international focus prior to the acquisition with expansion into the US nuclear sector and pushed into East Africa with the acquisition of Howard Humphreys but withdrew from Poland and Portugal. These changes were made as the management tried to push margins up and a strong set of financial figures led to the acquisition by SNC-Lavalin in July 2017.
In 2020 Lavalin reduced its global workforce by 19% to 38,000 people and axed 280 staff in the UK as part of plans SNC to make £50 million in cost savings there, but in 2021 the average number of employees was virtually static at 7,409 people (2020: 7,430 people).
The wage bill still rose in 2020 despite the jobs cuts and increased again in the subsequent trading year, rising 7% to £426.5 million (2020: £398.6 million) but further changes have been made. In early 2022, 500 staff were relocated to Glasgow and 150 to Belfast. This followed the closure in 2019 of two subsidiaries, Ventron Technology and Atkins Boreas.
As part of an international group with annual revenue of C$6 billion, Atkins is likely to remain one of the UK’s pre-eminent consultants. Further cuts seem likely, but given the historic margin advantage that Atkins’ UK operation enjoys over other overseas parts of the business, squeezing the largest pips out of the brand’s domestic base could prove problematic, particularly as the fundamentals for the acquisition remain strong.
Winning Work with Atkins
Atkins works with clients to review how they manage their supply chain and procure equipment, goods and services. This includes developing tools and processes aimed at achieving significant savings and providing documentation that is fully auditable and traceable to protect the interests of Atkins clients.
Atkins uses procurement experts who are members of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply and also specific business advisory experts to deliver cashable and non-cashable efficiencies through robust commercial governance, the application of market-leading technologies, accredited processes and systems, and the application of category knowledge and expertise across a broad range of goods, works and services.
Key Atkins procurement contacts include:
Head of supply chain – Colin Nicholson, tel: 01372-726140