Published on 1 February 2024

Ball & Berry is now Sweco

Engineering, environment, design and regulatory consultancy Sweco UK has strengthened its market leading reputation in the Building Control sector with the acquisition of Ball & Berry.

As a combined business, Sweco will now become the Building Control consultancy of choice delivering the technical and compliance standards across the industry. The acquisition will also strengthen Sweco’s competencies in all sectors and extend its geographical presence in England which will provide a compelling proposition to new and existing clients.

Established in 2007 and with 6 offices in England, Ball & Berry has provided Approved Inspector services in several sectors including commercial, residential, education, healthcare, hospitality, industrial and leisure. Ball & Berry employs around 40 people and had reported revenues of £3.4m in 2022.

Max Joy, Business Area President of Sweco UK comments: “This is an exciting new chapter in Sweco’s growth story here in the UK. Sweco and Ball & Berry share the same business and cultural values focused on clients, professional development and creating safe, secure and comfortable spaces for the end user. By coming together, we are ensuring that we have the right skills and knowledge to respond to our clients’ future needs as well as to the upcoming changes to the Building Safety Act.”

 

Download the full overview of our combined strengths here

Paul McNeill, director at Ball & Berry, part of Sweco said, “Since 2010/11, the business has undergone a journey of exceptional growth and transformation. Over recent years, we’ve opened several new offices in Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham, London and Maidstone, and recruited highly skilled Building Control professionals and administrative support staff to service a growing portfolio of clients who rely on our team for outstanding technical expertise that aids quality, seamless and successful projects.

“Coming together with Sweco – a company with the same passion for excellence – was an easy decision. Our combined expertise, and united values, culture and ethos will deliver incredible strength in our marketplace. Sweco’s strategy is underpinned by integrity, performance and a clear vision to put people at the heart of what they do, which very much mirrors that of Ball & Berry.”

This is the first acquisition for Sweco UK since it acquired MLM Group in May 2019.

Sweco was advised on the transaction by the Leeds offices of Squire Patton Boggs and EY’s transaction and SPA teams, which were led by Paul Mann and Matthew Vernon, respectively. Ball & Berry was represented by Forbes solicitors, led by Jenny Burke.

The value of the share purchase agreement (SPA) is undisclosed.

This is an exciting new chapter in Sweco’s growth story here in the UK. Sweco and Ball & Berry share the same business and cultural values focused on clients, professional development and creating safe, secure and comfortable spaces for the end user

Max Joy OBE President of Sweco UK

Coming together, stronger together – our combined project highlights

Roots in the Sky | Award-winning sustainability-first office scheme – learn more

Finsbury Tower | 13-storey extension to existing 16-storey building

Great Northern Warehouse | Historic Grade-II listed city centre hub – learn more

20 Ropemaker Street | New 25-storey commercial building

Olympia Redevelopment | London’s newest cultural landmark

Renaissance, Manchester | Outdated hotel given new lease of life – learn more

Hard Rock Café London | Fit-out compliance at famous flagship store – learn more

Station Street, Nottingham | Self-contained city centre student accommodation – learn more

Viadux Manchester |Grade II listed site brought into modern day with tower development – learn more

Leonardo Hotel, Manchester | Architecturally acclaimed hotel declared ‘amazing’ by planners – learn more

Exchange Square, Birmingham (Phases 1 & 2) | Multi-purpose residential development in an urban village – learn more

Ma6nitude, Middlewich | North West off-motorway industrial scheme offers links to rest of UK – learn more

Discovery Quay 2, Salford | Phase 2 of high specification student accommodation – learn more

Boulevard Hotel, Blackpool | £12m luxury seaside hotel in iconic seaside resort – learn more

Embankment West, Salford | Premium apartment development in Salford – learn more

St Albans Place, Leeds | Student accommodation close to University of Leeds – learn more

Uptown Riverside, Manchester | Modular-built apartments on the banks of River Irwell – learn more

Pringle Homes, Northcote Park | 42 unique, luxury homes spread across a 13-acre site in the Ribble Valley – learn more

AstraZeneca, Macclesfield | Future pharmaceutical growth enabled with development of sophisticated site – learn more

Health Innovation One, Lancaster | Facility encourages educational and community collaboration – learn more

Local Crescent, Salford | Safe, stylish and sky-high: high spec living spaces in Salford – learn more

About Sweco

Sweco plans and designs the sustainable communities and cities of the future. Together with our clients and the collective knowledge of our 22,000 architects, engineers and other experts, we co-create solutions to address urbanisation, capture the power of digitalisation, and make our societies more sustainable. Sweco is Europe’s leading engineering and architecture consultancy, with sales of approximately SEK 24 billion (EUR 2.2 billion). The company is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm. In the UK and Ireland, Sweco offers engineering, environment, design and regulatory services.