Knights has supported engineering and construction consultants Qflow on the establishment of its presence in the UK with three landmark acquisitions.
Qflow, a Swedish consultancy group made up of 40 businesses, boasts a team of more than 1,300 consultants specialising in community development and creating a smarter, more sustainable society.
With a significant presence across Sweden, Norway and Denmark, Qlow has entered the UK market, with the ambition to build a leading European specialist consultancy. Qflow has acquired transport planning and highway design consultancy, Caneparo Associates, highway design and sustainable infrastructure business, EAS Transport Planning, and programme management and risk advisory consultancy, Blueprint Project Solutions Ltd.
Headquartered in central London, Caneparo Associates specialise in transport planning and highway design, and have extensive experience of large and complex urban development schemes. The business provides services throughout the entire planning and delivery process, from early feasibility studies to statutory processes, transport assessments, and highway design.
Based in Hertfordshire, EAS Transport Planning is a technical consulting company focused on transport planning, highway design and sustainable infrastructure, and support both public and private sector clients in the planning and development of infrastructure projects.
Blueprint Project Solutions, meanwhile, are based in Stonehouse, Gloucestershire. Founded in 2011, the business providing project controls, programme management and risk advisory services to clients in the infrastructure, energy, nuclear and defence sectors.
Together, the acquisitions quickly strengthen Qflow’s position in the UK market and create an even stronger platform for continued growth, collaboration and knowledge sharing across the UK and the Nordics.
A specialist, multi-disciplinary team at Knights advised Qflow on the acquisitions. The team was led by Corporate Partner, Gareth Burge, supported by Joe Rollins and Ellie Bryan in Corporate, Steve Brunt and Aaran Kandola in Commercial, Rob Pettigrew in Real Estate, Laura Clark and Tessa Rogerson in Employment and Deborah Ritchie and Jade Thompson in Construction.
Alexander Weiss Montan, Head of M&A at Qflow, said:
“We are incredibly proud and pleased to welcome Caneparo Associates, EAS Transport Planning and Blueprint Project Solutions to the Qflow Group. This represents a significant milestone for us, not only by establishing a presence in the United Kingdom, but also alongside our strategic ambition to build a leading European specialist consultancy.
“Each business brings their own individual strengths that make them a great fit for Qflow, but importantly all bring a strong reputation, talented teams and deep client relationships alongside close alignment with our wider growth strategy.
“We look forward to growing and developing together and to further strengthening our platform in the UK as we continue to build a leading specialist consulting group in infrastructure and the built environment.”
Gareth Burge, Partner at Knights, added:
“We are delighted to have supported the team at Qflow on this exciting next stage of growth which has seen the business rapidly and successfully expand into the UK market.
“The addition of these three business and their talented team to Qflow adds a breadth of specialist consultancy services that further build upon the capability to the Group’s customer proposition.
“It has been a pleasure to work alongside Alexander and his team on the execution of this stage of the business’s growth strategy, and we wish everyone at Qflow, Caneparo Associates, EAS Transport Planning and Blueprint Project Solutions every success as they take this next step together.
“We have enjoyed working with Qflow on its entry into the UK market, and look forward to supporting their further growth.”