Spanish engineering and technology services firm Ayesa acquired Byrne Looby in early 2022. It said its aim was to expand further into English-speaking markets, including Ireland, the UK, US and Australia, as well as the Middle East.

The rebranding of Byrne Looby follows an 18 month integration period between the companies.

As Ayesa, the consultancy is expected to be able to operate at a greater scale, drawing from the global engineering and technology specialist resources to offer additional services. The organisation will also aim to compete for more large-scale infrastructure projects within the UK, Ireland and the Middle East.

Ayesa now has more than 50 ground engineering professionals working for it globally.

According to Ayesa UK engineering director Rob Sizer, this will “immediately enhance the proposition of the [Ayesa] UK division”.

“They bring a wealth of experience and skill, having already worked on major projects in the UK, including the Silvertown Tunnel. Not only that, they’ve also been involved in some of the world’s most ambitious and advanced projects, providing geotechnical consultancy on new underground stations for metro lines 2 and 4 in Lima, Peru, as well as the metro system in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia,” he said.

“They bring a unique set of specialisms drawn from working in extreme environments, including recent projects in Scandinavia, where they provided technical expertise to work within very challenging clays alongside important seismic geotechnical and structural design across Latin America and the Middle East. All this, and more, will be invaluable as the UK adapts to climate change and seeks to futureproof infrastructure.”

Sizer also told GE that it would be “business as usual” for its clients in the UK.

“However, we’ll be looking to collaborate more with our international colleagues and pooling expertise to offer a broader range of services and experience. Operating in 23 countries worldwide, there is a wealth of knowledge oven-ready for the UK market to tap into, allowing us to work on more significant specialist projects,” he explained.

Ayesa is now also looking to expand in the UK, particularly within its geotechnical teams, which predominantly operate from the Guildford, London, Manchester and Belfast offices.

The recent news that the UK’s flagship transport infrastructure scheme High Speed 2 would not be delivered in full was disappointing for Ayesa.

However, Sizer stressed that there is still “plenty of infrastructure work being undertaken or planned across the UK”.

“For example, we’ll be focusing on Network Rail’s new five year plan, recently announced and set to provide essential and far-reaching upgrades. Not only that, there’s plenty of activity around other transport infrastructure, particularly roads, which have recently had major funding allocated to repair, regeneration, and new schemes,” he said.

“Beyond that, we’re also looking at strengthening our proposition within other key verticals, particularly groundworks for buildings and our water sector capabilities. We’re currently in the process of growing UK teams for both, particularly the latter, where both Ayesa and Byrne Looby have considerable and highly regarded expertise worldwide.”

Byrne Looby’s UK and Irish talent will also be used to bolster Ayesa’s international projects.

“To be clear, this is not about relocating anyone,” Sizer said. “We’re an engineering, technology consulting company, so we operate globally and remotely already. However, Ayesa does provide opportunities for those who want to relocate and work on international projects should they wish to, as part of its commitment to broaden the horizons of its engineers wherever possible.”

As one of the key challenges in the UK ground engineering sector, Sizer highlighted labour shortages.

“[They] are a longstanding issue, particularly within highly specialised professions such as geotechnical engineering. However, with Ayesa’s international pool of professionals, we can now quickly draw on extra resources when we need them,” he noted.

“This also gives us greater flexibility to adapt to market conditions. It means we can draw on resources when needed and quickly redeploy according to project needs. It prevents a situation many will have faced following the HS2 phase 2 cancellation, where firms have undertaken major recruitment drives and found themselves with a supply surplus without the demand to match it.”

The UK and Ireland territories will be headed by John Byrne, co-founder of Byrne Looby. Having experience acquiring companies during his tenure as a business owner, he underlines the importance of rebranding under one brand name to maximise synergies and opportunities.

“Since the acquisition, we’ve continued to grow our revenues, staff and capabilities, making significant inroads into the vibrant UK and Ireland infrastructure sectors. I’m excited about the future as we can do much more with greater agility, maintaining our core offering of highly technical and multidisciplinary services but now on a global scale,” he said.