WSP Global Inc. is a Canadian consulting firm working mostly in the

built environment The term built environment refers to human-made conditions and is often used in architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning, public health, sociology, and anthropology, among others. These curated spaces provide the setting for human ac ...

. It was created in 2012, following Montreal-based Genivar's takeover of British firm WSP Group plc. It is listed on the

Toronto Stock Exchange The Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX; ) is a stock exchange located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the List of stock exchanges, 10th largest exchange in the world and the third largest in North America based on market capitalization. Based in th ...

. After the purchase of New York-headquartered professional services firm Parsons Brinckerhoff in October 2014, WSP effectively became one of the largest professional services firms in the world, with approximately 73,300 employees in 500 offices serving in 40 countries.

History

Origins of WSP

''Williams Sale Partnership'' was established in 1969 in England by Chris Cole, Geoffrey Williams, John Sale, and Geoffrey Middleton. In 1976, it was a founding member of the Building Services Research and Information Association ( BSRIA). It was first listed on the

London Stock Exchange The London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange based in London, England. the total market value of all companies trading on the LSE stood at US$3.42 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Paul's Cath ...

in 1987. In the 1990s, the company expanded both domestically and internationally, forming ''WSP Asia'' in 1995, incorporating Graham Group and '' T P O'Sullivan and Partners'' in 1997, acquiring US practices ''Cantor Seinuk'' and ''Flack + Kurtz'' in 2000, as well as buying ''Jacobson & Widmark'' (J&W) in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

in 2001 (J&W was founded in 1938), ''LT Consultants Oyj'' and ''EMP Projects Oyj'' in

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

in 2003 and ''PHB Group'' in the

UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a federal elective monarchy made up of seven emirates, with Abu Dhabi serving as i ...

in 2005.

Genivar

After acquiring three firms and expanding geographically in 1993, the name of the Canadian firm GBGM was changed to Genivar Inc. In August 2011, Genivar Inc. and Montreal-based architectural firm

ARCOP Arcop (also ARCOP) was an architectural firm based in Montreal, renowned for designing many major projects in Canada including Place Bonaventure, Place Ville-Marie and Maison Alcan. The firm was originally formed as a partnership under the name ...

announced an alliance.

Takeover

On 7 June 2012, Genivar made a friendly takeover cash offer of £278 million ( C$442 million) for WSP Group plc, headquartered in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. The offer was backed by WSP's

board of directors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

as well as investors holding 37% of the company's shares, and the takeover was completed on 1 August 2012. This merger created a professional-services firm with approximately 15,000 employees, working in over 300 offices worldwide. The company reorganised its corporate structure on 1 January 2014, to create a parent company named WSP Global Inc. and adopted the common brand of WSP.

Subsequent acquisitions

In October 2014, WSP completed the purchase of New York-headquartered professional services firm Parsons Brinckerhoff from

Balfour Beatty Balfour Beatty plc () is an international infrastructure group based in the United Kingdom with capabilities in construction services, support services and infrastructure investments. A constituent of the FTSE 250 Index, the company is active ac ...

for US$1.24 billion. The company has a network of approximately 170 offices and nearly 13,500 employees on five continents and became a wholly owned independent subsidiary. Together, WSP , Parsons Brinckerhoff is one of the largest professional services firms in the world with approximately 32,000 employees in 500 offices serving 39 countries. In early 2015, WSP announced plans to expand to 45,000 employees by 2020. In October 2016, WSP purchased Mouchel Consulting from the Kier Group for approximately £75 million. In January 2017, WSP , Parsons Brinckerhoff announced that it would assume the name "WSP", effective from May 2017. In August 2017, WSP made a takeover bid for Opus International Consultants. In July 2018, WSP announced its intention to buy Berger Group Holdings Inc., parent of the group of companies operating under the name of Louis Berger Group, a Morristown, N.J.-based international professional-services firm, for $400 million. In February 2020, WSP acquired US-based environmental consulting firm LT Environmental (LTE). On December 3, 2020, WSP acquired Canadian-based geotechnical, earth-science, and environmental consulting firm Golder for $1.14 billion. On June 1, 2022, WSP announced an agreement of sale with Wood Group for the Environment & Infrastructure group (E&I) part of its business. The £1.6 bn acquisition was concluded in September 2022. In August 2022, WSP made an unsuccessful takeover offer to purchase RPS Group for £591 million. In September 2022, RPS received a counter takeover offer from

Tetra Tech Tetra Tech, Inc. is an American consulting and engineering services firm based in Pasadena, California. The company provides consulting, engineering, program management, and construction management services in the areas of water, environment, inf ...

for £636 million with WSP opting not to increase its bid. RPS' shareholders voted to accept the Tetra Tech offer in November 2022. In December 2022, WSP announced plans to acquire a 700-person Swiss engineering firm, BG Consulting Engineers, based in

Lausanne Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...

with offices in France, Portugal and Italy. In August 2024, WSP announced plans to acquire 4,000-person US based consulting engineering firm, POWER Engineers, based in Hailey, Idaho with over 50 offices around the US and Canada for US$1.78 billion. In June 2025, WSP agreed terms to purchase British engineering consultancy Ricardo.

Projects

WSP projects include: * Durley Chine, Bournemouth, UK *

22 Bishopsgate 22 Bishopsgate is a commercial skyscraper in London, England. Completed in 2020, it occupies a prominent site in Bishopsgate, in the City of London financial district, and stands tall with 62 storeys. The project replaces an earlier plan for a ...

, London, UK * 56 Leonard Street, New York City, US * Old Oak Common railway station, London, UK * Perth Arena, Perth, Australia * Jerusalem Light Rail, Jerusalem, Israel and the Occupied West Bank * City Rail Link, Auckland, New Zealand

References

External links

Official site
{{Authority control Consulting firms established in 1959 Companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange Companies formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange Companies based in Montreal Construction and civil engineering companies of Canada Construction and civil engineering companies of the United Kingdom Engineering companies of the United Kingdom Engineering consulting firms of Canada International engineering consulting firms Canadian brands 1959 establishments in Quebec British companies established in 1959 Construction and civil engineering companies established in 1959 Canadian companies established in 1959