SLR Consulting is a privately owned international sustainability consultancy with offices in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

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South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

Australasia Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologica ...

, and

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. In 2019, it reported revenues of £150.8 million. Its purpose is ‘Making Sustainability Happen’, which it achieves through its global team of expert advisors and technicians, who partner with clients to tackle some of the world’s most complex sustainability challenges.

History

Founding

The firm was founded as SECOR Ltd in 1994 by Alan Sheppard, John Leeson and David Richards. After establishing the company in

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, in 1994, David oversaw the growth of the business from a small UK operator into an environmental consultancies in the UK, with international operations across

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, and the US In 2000, the senior management team completed a management buyout and the company's name was changed to SLR Consulting Limited. In 2004 they secured funding from

Livingbridge Livingbridge is a mid-market private equity firm launched in 1995. Headquartered in London, the firm also has offices in, Melbourne, Australia and Boston, US. Livingbridge was known until November 2014 as Isis Equity Partners, but rebranded as ...

, who invested £4.85 million as part of a £13 million investment including other partners, and took a significant minority stake in the company. In 2008, 3i invested £32.5 million in the firm, and replaced

with a significant minority stake. In March 2018, Charterhouse Capital Partners (CCP) acquired a majority shareholding in the business. In June 2022 Charterhouse Capital Partners agreed to a sale of SLR Consulting to

Ares Management Ares Management Corporation is an American global alternative investment manager operating in the credit, private equity and real estate markets. The company was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California, with additional of ...

private equity partners. David Richards was Chief Executive Officer from 1994–2013. In line with the Group's succession plans, Neil Penhall, formerly Managing Director of SLR Consulting and an Executive Director of SLR Management, assumed the role of CEO.

Expansion

Over the years the firm has expanded its offices, with additions across Europe (including the UK & Ireland, France, Germany, and the Netherlands), Africa (including Ghana, Namibia and South Africa), Asia-Pacific (including Australia, New Zealand and Singapore), and the US, Canada, & Chile in the Americas. By 2023 there were more than 100 offices across 15 countries, with over 3,000 staff. SLR has made a number of acquisitions, beginning with the UK-based Waste Management Engineering Limited in 2005. Then followed the UK-based landscape architect company Insite Environments; the Canadian company SEACOR Environmental Inc. the UK-based company FMH Consulting Engineers; the Irish Dublin-based environmental consultancy CSA; the specialist mineral planning, landscape and land management firm Bowman Planton; the UK based Architecture and Planning Solutions Alaska-based Hoefler Consulting Group; Australia-based Heggies Pty Limited; UK-based company Andrew McCarthy Associates; South African based GreenEng and Metago. In Namibia it acquired Bittner Water Consult CC, a sustainable groundwater consulting firm, and A Speiser Environmental Consultants, a Namibian-based specialist consultancy with expertise in EIAs. In October 2013, Cooper Partnership - Chartered Landscape Architects was acquired in Bristol, UK; and in early 2014, the acquisition of HFP Acoustical was completed, adding offices in Calgary, Alberta and Houston, Texas. In July 2014 South African-based consultancy CCA Environmental Pty (Ltd) was also acquired. In November 2014 SLR acquired the UK-based oil and gas solutions provider Challenge Energy, and in February 2015 SLR acquired E.Vironment LLC, a Houston-based environmental management, health and safety,

process safety Process safety focuses on preventing fires, explosions and chemical accidents in chemical process facilities or other facilities dealing with hazardous materials such as refineries, and oil and gas ( onshore and offshore) production installations ...

, and transaction advisory firm. In April 2019, SLR acquired Novus Environmental, a Canadian specialized environmental firm.

References

{{Authority control Companies based in Buckinghamshire Consulting firms of the United Kingdom Engineering