Penningtons Manches Cooper advises SOCOTEC UK Limited, the UK’s leading provider of testing, inspection and certification services, on two strategic acquisitions

Posted: 27/01/2023

The corporate team at Penningtons Manches Cooper has advised SOCOTEC UK, the UK’s leading provider and a leading European player in testing, inspection and certification services, on the acquisition of Quadrant Building Control and Shore Engineering as it continues to strengthen its position in the UK.

SOCOTEC UK is the UK's leading provider of testing, inspection and certification services, with comprehensive solutions in the infrastructure, environment and safety, advisory, environmental science, and building and real estate sectors. Delivering seven million tests a year to more than 5,000 clients, it offers the widest range of testing, inspection and compliance services in the UK. SOCOTEC UK employs approximately 1,900 people across its four divisions in the UK, and is part of the wider SOCOTEC Group, which has facilities in more than 25 countries, 10,000 employees, and around €1 billion in turnover.

Established in 2007, Quadrant Building Control is an ‘approved inspector’, which doubled in size from 2018 to 2021. It employs 140 surveyors and administrators and is licensed to undertake building control work in accordance with Part II of the Building Act 1984 and the Building Regulations 2010. As approved inspectors, authorised by the government to carry out building control on building works in England and Wales, they are licensed by the Construction Industry Council Approved Inspectors Register (CICAIR).

Shore Engineering was established in 2002 and provides a range of professional services to the construction industry including building control (approved inspector) and construction, design and management consultancy roles, covering any size of project from minor buildings works to complex multi-million-pound developments. Shore is also authorised by CICAIR.

The Penningtons Manches Cooper team advising SOCOTEC UK was led by corporate partner Richard Wrigley, with support from associates James Mann and Jennifer Ford. The wider team included support from corporate tax associate Leonie Langley, commercial senior associate Nora Pook, employment associate Tom Pimenta and real estate associate Lauren Winch.

Jason Goodwin, chief financial officer of SOCOTEC UK, added: “By acquiring Shore and Quadrant, SOCOTEC UK has become the leading company in the UK building control sector, and a major player within the building and real estate market, both in commercial and residential sectors. I’d like to thank Richard and the team at Penningtons Manches Cooper for their expertise and advice, and working to tight deadlines to ensure completion of both transactions on the same day, as well as ensuring that crucial licences through CICAIR were also considered through the process.”

Richard Wrigley, corporate partner at Penningtons Manches Cooper, said: “We are delighted to have advised SOCOTEC on these strategic transactions, which complement SOCOTEC UK’s service offering and footprint across its core divisions. We look forward to continuing to support SOCOTEC UK in the future.”

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