West Sussex-based engineering company sold in £281m deal

Engineering company Ricardo has been bought by WSP Global – a Canadian professional services firm.

Ricardo’s headquarters is based at Shoreham Technical Centre – on Old Shoreham Road.

The factory, near Shoreham Airport, works to ‘put a sustainable future in reach’ by ‘creating innovative services’ that are at the ‘intersection of transport, energy and environment agendas across the globe’.

A WSP statement read on Wednesday, June 11, read: “WSP, one of the world's leading professional services firms, announces that it has reached agreements to acquire the entire issued and to be issued share capital of Ricardo plc for 430 pence per share.

"The acquisition underscores WSP's commitment to expanding its footprint in high-growth sectors worldwide.

"Headquartered in the United Kingdom, Ricardo is a global consulting firm delivering strategic, advisory, and engineering solutions that intersect the global transport, energy and environment agendas.

"Operating in over 20 countries, Ricardo is home to approximately 2,700 experts based across Europe, Australia, North America, Asia and the Middle East.”

Alexandre L’Heureux, President and CEO of WSP, said: “The proposed acquisition of Ricardo perfectly aligns with WSP’s vision for sustainable, compounding growth and our clear ambitions to expand in advisory, energy transition, water solutions and the rail sector over the next three years.

“We are poised to enhance our ability to deliver innovative solutions as we combine our global reach and resources with Ricardo’s complementary expertise. Moreover, the shared entrepreneurial spirit and technical excellence between our teams will position us to create further value for our clients.

"We look forward to welcoming Ricardo’s talented professionals to WSP and seizing new opportunities with our broadened service offering.”