BGF-backed Hydrock acquires Yorkshire-based MRB Consulting Engineers

By Nicky Godding

28 October 2019

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The Business Magazine article image for: BGF-backed Hydrock acquires Yorkshire-based MRB Consulting Engineers

Hydrock - (L-R) Barry McConell and Paul Olden, PR and headshots shoot, Bristol. 3 September 2018

Engineering design consultancy Hydrock, headquartered in Bristol and with sites in Gloucester and Harwell, Oxfordshire, has bought Yorkshire-based MRB Consulting Engineers, as the company further expands its footprint across the UK.

Hydrock is backed by BGF, the UK and Ireland’s most active investor in growing companies, who first invested in September 2018. Since then, Hydrock has seen significant growth, opening a new office in Birmingham and expanding its teams in Manchester, Cardiff and Southampton. BGF has provided follow-on funding to support the acquisition of MRB and to enhance Hydrock’s ongoing strategic development plans.

Founded in 2007, Yorkshire-based MRB delivers building services design and environmental engineering consultancy services on a wide range of property schemes both in northern England and across the UK. The acquisition by Hydrock complements the company’s established multi-disciplinary service offering and strengthens both Hydrock’s energy and sustainability offering in the built environment and existing UK office network by adding a base in Yorkshire. MRB will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Hydrock trading under the name of Hydrock MRB as a separate operating division for the foreseeable future.

BGF’s Paul Oldham, who sits on the board of Hydrock, said: “This is a fantastic result for Brian and the team, who have expanded Hydrock substantially over the past twelve months, building on an excellent track record and a strong national network. They have great ambitions for the continued growth of Hydrock and we’re pleased to be working with them as a long-term investment partner, providing funding and support for this exciting next stage of growth.”

Commenting on the acquisition, Dr Brian McConnell, Hydrock’s CEO, said: “This is a great strategic move for both Hydrock and MRB. It provides us with a base in a key geographic location giving access to the strong property development market in and round Leeds and across Yorkshire. It also enables MRB to realise their growth plan which is fuelled by the strong relationships they have established over the past 12 years with a high calibre set of clients.

“Our new colleagues from MRB are warmly welcomed into the Hydrock team. Our cultural values and the way we build relationships with clients has been core to the long-term success of Hydrock. Having spent time with MRB’s leadership team I know we are aligned in these areas and this will make the transition for both clients and staff very easy.”

The deal was led for BGF by James Skade and Paul Oldham.

By Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe.

After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts.

She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.