Consulting Firm of the Year

Align Property Partners

Align is a leading multidisciplinary consultancy known for technical excellence, sustainable growth, and a people-first approach. Over the past decade, it has grown from 50 employees in a single office to over 160 across five locations. In the last 18 months, Align increased revenue by £2 million (+36.5%), more than doubled gross profit (+101.8%), and secured £300 million in energy efficiency projects supporting government initiatives.Yorkshire’s largest wholly internal PAS 2035 team enables Align to deliver full turnkey retrofit solutions, seamlessly integrating Net Zero Carbon strategies. With 21% of employees supported through formal studies, Align boasts an industry-leading retention rate of under 5%. Key projects include the £7 million Oakbridge Primary School and the £21 million Catterick Levelling Up Fund. Looking ahead, Align plans regional expansion, workforce growth, and continued leadership in decarbonisation and retrofit initiatives, combining technical expertise with community impact.

AtkinsRéalis

In the last 18 months, AtkinsRéalis has demonstrated exceptional growth and innovation in the UK engineering consulting sector, positioning itself as a leader in transportation, defence, buildings & places, water, and power & renewables. The company have achieved a 14% revenue increase and significant profit increases through the Pivoting to Growth strategy.A clear step change in business operations is demonstrated through enhanced service offerings and technological advancements, demonstrated through successful project delivery across diverse sectors such as implemententing a state-of-the-art digital signalling systems for Network Rail.The significant growth has been strengthened by partnerships and collaborations with key clients such as the MOD, Anglian Water, Heathrow and National Highways.Looking ahead, AtkinsRéalis is well positioned for continued growth through the Delivering Excellence, Driving Growth strategy that begun in 2024, placing a strategic focus on high-growth markets

Cundall

Cundall is a global, independent, multi-disciplinary consultancy delivering sustainable engineering and design solutions across the built environment. We are recognised as a global leader in sustainability. Yet, we know there is much more that we can and need to do. Business as usual is not enough.Operating in 29 locations with over 1200 engineers and designers, we respond flexibly to local market conditions. We are 100% owned by Partners working in the practice. Known for leading projects, our curiosity drives us to ask the right questions and achieve the best results. We challenge convention and develop innovative ideas.

Network Rail Consulting

Network Rail Consulting (NRC) provides railway expertise to rail and transit agencies and governments in Australia, the Middle East and North America across five business sectors: advisory, strategic planning, major projects, railway operations and asset management & maintenance. NRC has grown significantly over the last 2 years increasing its presence in Australia and the USA with new offices in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sacramento. NRC continues to work closely with Transport for New South Wales on the roll-out of ETCS in Sydney and has been successful in winning competitively tendered contracts with Amtrak, to support the roll-out of their new Airo fleet, and with the California High Speed Rail Authority for rail systems engineering services. NRC derives all its revenue from its overseas operations and has grown its annual revenue by circa 56% close to £50m p.a. over the last 2 years whilst delivering strong profitability and excellent client satisfaction results.

Pell Frischmann

Pell Frischmann has seen the implementation of its latest strategic growth plan. This recent achievement comes within the background of reaching our 100th year as a business and in turn allows us to reflect on nearly a century of engineering milestones. Our latest vision is driven by a mantra of “better not just bigger” and at its heart this means we are committed to making Pell Frischmann an exceptional place to work. We believe this is the right way to achieve sustainable growth and our results have demonstrated this strategy works. Financial growth is one metric where we have exceeded, seeing revenue increase by 45%. As we have continued to support our people, we also excelled in many other metrics such as: Sustainability; Social Value; Client Satisfaction; and Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.

Robert Bird Group

Even with uncertain market conditions, RBG has seen significant growth over the last 18 months with revenue increasing by 18% and profit increasing by 20%. Our Birmingham Office goes from strength to strength and has doubled in size over the last 18 months.Project sizes and status also continue to grow for our UK teams with flagship projects including Olympia and Camp Nou football stadium. Our excellent relationship with clients and partners allows us to unlock significant opportunities on the most complex of projects. On the Wet Dock Project in Scotland, this lead to savings of over £900k and 6-7 weeks in the construction programme.Our industry first Pre-Construction Solutions service was recently launched and is a construction advice consultancy service that replaces early contractor involvement. Coupled with our newly developed in-house 4D digital rehearsal platform, Reveal, we saved tens of millions for our clients over the last 18 months.

Stantec

Stantec's strategy in the UK&I is built on our core values of: we put people first, we do what is right, we are better together, and we are driven to achieve. Updated in 2024, our 'Purpose Driven Growth' strategy, focuses on three key pillars that directly tackle national challenges. We grow organically and through acquisitions, while fostering meaningful partnerships and delivering sustainable solutions that put communities at the heart of what we do. From providing industry first nature-based solutions, to driving the energy transition. With every community, we redefine what’s possible.