RSK acquires Carter Ecological to become one of the UK’s largest ecological consultancies

5 April

An acquisition of 55-strong Carter Ecological Ltd has made RSK Group one of the UK’s largest ecological service providers.

The deal significantly bolsters RSK’s ability to undertake a wide range of specialist botanical and protected species surveys, to provide ecological clerks of work and to prepare ecological mitigation, conservation management and farm environment plans.

In particular, RSK’s landscape architects, archaeologists, environmental scientists and EcoHomes/Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) specialists are expected to benefit from the additional ecological resources.

Since its formation in 1998, Carter Ecological has grown from a company of three to one of 50 specialist ecologists. Working across the energy, transport, government, property, coastal, estuarine and agricultural sectors, it services clients such as National Grid, BP, the National Trust, Natural England, the Environment Agency, Kent County Council and Liverpool 20/20.

Carter Ecological recently hit the headlines by seeing off competition from several multi-national companies to become the lead ecological contractor for the monumental £254m London CrossRail project.

RSK director Dr Janet Swan said:
“This is a major coup for the RSK Group and, at a time when businesses and organisations are under increasing pressure to consider ecological impacts, this will enable us to conduct almost all ecological services in-house.

We hope this merger will make us not only the biggest ecological services provider in the UK, but also the best.”

Carter Ecological director Ben Wild said:
“The union should work very well. By working together, we will be able to take ownership of whole projects without the pain of subcontracting.

Multi-disciplinary companies often find it hard to attract the top ecologists, whereas Carter Ecological attracts first class ecologists. The merger is an ideal match.”

In order to retain its strong brand identity, Carter Ecological will trade as RSK Carter Ecological Ltd.

The deal is the latest in a series of high-profile business moves by RSK that have included a merger with Structural Soils (which made it the UK’s largest site investigation company) in March and a successful buy-out of the American AECOM company ENSR’s minority shareholding in December 2006.

RSK’s increased operational freedom since the conclusion of the latter has enabled it to embark on an ambitious expansion strategy as it aims to become the UK’s number one environmental consultancy.

Key to this goal will be to build on the Group’s growth in recent years, notably a doubled workforce since 2005 to almost 600 employees, a turnover increase of 35% since 2002/2003 to over £26m in 2005/06 (the figure is set to hit £40m in 2006/07) and breakthroughs in Middle Eastern and North African markets.

Notes for editors 

About RSK
RSK Group is one of Europe’s fastest growing environmental consultancies with 600 staff across 25 strategic locations in the UK, Europe, The Gulf and Caspian regions. RSK offers clients a one-stop-shop for environmental services and a peerless dedication to best practice (RSK remains one of the few companies of its kind to have achieved certification to the ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 standards for quality, environmental and health and safety management).

About Carter Ecological
Carter Ecological formed in 1998 and has since grown to become one of the UK’s most respected specialist providers of ecological services. Working out of three UK locations (Banbury, Wrexham and Norfolk), it provides a wide range of habitat and species surveys and ecological advice to clients across a variety of business sectors.