RSK extends UK architectural and building consultancy services with N-Able Group acquisition

RSK has added to its architectural, building consultancy and project management services across the UK with the acquisition of N-Able Group. The business is a one-stop shop for design and construction services, covering everything from new builds to refurbishment and retrofits.

N-Able Group comprises two companies – ECD Architects, an architecture firm providing sustainable building design, and Keegans, a building consultancy specialising in retrofit, building and fire safety.
The 110-strong N-Able Group has offices in London and Preston in England and Glasgow in Scotland, enhancing RSK’s built and natural environment service offering in these areas and increasing its regional representation.

N-Able boasts a multidisciplinary team including architects, Passivhaus designers and certifiers, building surveyors, quantity surveyors, accredited retrofit assessors, designers and coordinators, health and safety and building safety experts. Its fire engineering specialists are experienced in the public and private residential, education and public building sectors.

Clients, 80% of which have worked with N-Able Group before, include London Borough of Lambeth, Mears Group, Renfrewshire Council, Suntory Global Spirits, hub West Scotland, Westminster City Council, Encore Estates, Cambridge City Council, Morgan Sindall, EastendHomes, London Borough of Haringey, Basildon Council, Homes England and the City of London Corporation.

Here are some recent projects that have been undertaken.

Thornhill Primary School, central Bedfordshire: A multi-award-winning new-build expansion from a one-form entry to a three-form entry school through the addition of a new building. This new building has been certified to the Passivhaus standard, making it the first Passivhaus school in Bedfordshire. The project was a joint effort between ECD’s architects and Keegans’ project manager and cost consultant teams working in close collaboration with the council. Achieving Passivhaus standard has ensured the quality of construction, provided significant benefits to the whole life cycle cost, reduced the financial running costs and significantly improved thermal comfort and indoor air quality for the school.

Wilmcote House, Portsmouth: Wilmcote House is an award-winning refurbishment project and the largest occupied residential building to target the EnerPHit standard. The project for Portsmouth City Council involved the refurbishment of three 11-storey linked residential blocks to the Passivhaus EnerPHit standard. The building has been clad in high quality non-combustible mineral wool insulation and all of the homes have been fully compartmented, thereby preventing the spread of fire between flats both internally and externally. The building was constructed in 1968 and a number of major elements of it were coming to the end of their serviceable life, with the result that the building required major refurbishment.

The success of this project has been studied by both the University of Southampton and the LSE – with the University of Southampton monitoring the building’s thermal performance before and after the project’s completion and the LSE surveying residents before, during and after the works to understand the challenges and benefits of working with residents in situ and ascertain what impact the project has had on their lives.

Following the project’s completion, Southampton’s monitoring of the flats showed a significant increase in thermal comfort and reduced energy use, while the LSE report captured positive resident satisfaction. An important step for the improvement of affordable homes, Wilmcote House continues to be presented and published within the press and recognised by awards. ECD led the multidisciplinary design team, with Keegans providing project management, cost consultancy, Construction (Design and Management) Regulations (CDM) and clerk of works service.

N-Able Group Chief Executive Officer Colette McHugh, who will continue to lead the business, said: “This acquisition is a significant step for N-Able, creating valuable opportunities to work with a range of multidisciplinary RSK businesses aligned with the sectors we operate. This will naturally benefit our business and the service we offer our clients, allowing us to draw on integrated group support for our projects. Crucially, it will also support our business growth and it is this growth that will enable our teams to compete for larger national contracts and provide an even broader range of services.

“RSK is a global leader in the delivery of sustainable solutions and the acquisition will enhance our own sustainability initiatives in a way that will add value to our client offering. We also recognise that, for our people, the acquisition will support significant career development and long-term opportunities across the group.”

RSK Group Chief Executive Officer Alan Ryder said: “N-Able Group is an important acquisition for RSK as this strategically supports and complements our existing engineering and design consulting businesses. It will further strengthen our capability, capacity and geographic reach within this sector at an important time for the UK.”

Alan said that N-Able has a strong track record in the property services sector, improving energy efficiency and building safety and with a level of expertise that is highly sought-after by public sector organisations, contractors and commercial businesses.

He added: “The addition of the N-Able businesses will enhance RSK’s integrated, multidisciplinary approach to projects in a way that benefits clients and we feel sets our business apart from others in the market. The combination of this approach and the skills and experience held in our engineering and design consulting businesses means RSK is well placed to play a meaningful role in initiatives related to new building safety requirements, the UK housing shortage, climate change and decarbonisation.”