Our heritage

Mott, Hay & Anderson

Engineers Basil Mott and David Hay, having worked together since 1888 on the City and South London Railway, entered into partnership under the name Mott & Hay in 1902. Sir David Anderson joined 19 years later.

Their traditions owe much to Mott’s and Hay’s two mentors: JH Greathead is renowned as the foremost soft ground tunneler of the time, while Sir Benjamin Baker is remembered particularly for London’s District Railway and the Forth Railway Bridge.

Sir M MacDonald & Partners

Sir Murdoch MacDonald, in his capacity as Advisor to Egypt’s Ministry of Public Works, was closely associated with the development and first heightening of the Aswan Dam, which marked the start of a long association with hydroelectric power development. Sir Murdoch retired from the Egyptian Government Service in June 1921 and returned to Britain where, at the age of 55, he immediately entered partnership with Archibald MacCorquodale.

PH East (who had also been an engineer in the Egyptian Government Service from 1907 to 1926) and O.L. Prowde joined Sir Murdoch MacDonald in a partnership in January 1927, marking the start of a new era. The name of the company was changed to Sir M MacDonald & Partners. Major new work started, including the second heightening of the Aswan Dam, which continued through the design and construction stages to 1933.

Ewbank Preece

Ewbank Preece joined the Group in 1994 to take our power and telecommunications abilities into a new league. Its pedigree began when Preece Cardew & Rider, an electric power and telecommunications specialist, was founded in 1893 by Arthur Henry Preece. He was later joined by his father Sir William Preece, engineer in chief to the General Post Office, by Major Phillip Cardew, electrical advisor to the Board of Trade, and in 1915, by electrical engineer John Hall Rider.

Ewbank & Partners Limited was founded in 1946 by C.H.P. Ewbank and colleagues from Edmundsons at the time when the UK electricity supply industry was nationalized.

Both companies merged in 1983 to form Ewbank Preece, one of the UK’s leading specialist consulting firms in power generation, transmission and distribution, desalination, and telecommunications.

Hatch Mott MacDonald

To serve North America’s booming transport market, Mott MacDonald and Canada’s Hatch Associates established a joint venture company in 1996 called Hatch Mott MacDonald. The joint venture was formed after a long affiliation with Hatch that began when we worked together on Toronto’s subway in the 1950s. The new company took over combined tunnels and transport operations in North America.

In 2016, Hatch Mott MacDonald was separated into two distinct businesses. HMM’s Canada business became part of Hatch while HMM’s US business joined Mott MacDonald. Mott MacDonald continues to operate in all sectors in North America, including buildings, all areas of transportation, tunnels, energy, water and wastewater, communications, education, health, and environment.

Cambridge Education

In 1985 Sir M MacDonald & Partners, in partnership with the University of Cambridge, formed Cambridge Education Consultants with the aim of providing the highest-quality education consulting services in support of educational development worldwide.

For many years, Cambridge Education Consultants enjoyed close links with Cambridge Education Associates, collaborating on many projects. In the UK, Cambridge Education Associates was the largest contractor for inspections by the Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) and the leading provider of consulting and interim management for local education authorities and schools. Marking the start of a new era, Cambridge Education Associates formally joined the Group in 2000. Our education business is now known as Cambridge Education.

Dalal Consultants

Dalal Consultants joined Mott MacDonald in 2001 to expand our industrial, multidisciplinary, and social sector capabilities in India’s vast market. By this time, Dalal had grown to one of the country’s largest management and engineering consulting firms, with 750 staff specializing in infrastructure, industry, and social sector development.

Dalal Consultants began operations in Ahmedabad in 1970, providing preinvestment advisory services to private investors in the industrial sector and to government-owned industrial development corporations. After 20 strong years, Dalal diversified its activities into water resources management, transportation, and integrated infrastructure development once markets were opened up to the private sector.

Franklin + Andrews

In 2002, leading cost consultant Franklin + Andrews joined the Group to enhance our capabilities in management consulting, project management, and commercial management.

Founded in 1866 by surveying and architecture experts Thomas Franklin and John Andrews, the firm is the longest-standing company to join the Mott MacDonald Group. With 650 staff across the UK, Europe, Africa, and Asia Pacific, it brought us all aspects of specialist consulting in contracting strategy, supply chain management, construction cost data, benchmarking, contract advisory services, and project finance expertise in the building, transport, utility, and energy sectors.

HLSP

Moving into health had long been one of our ambitions. We achieved this in 2003 when we were joined by HLSP, an international organization providing technical assistance, consulting, and project management focused on improving world health.

HLSP, established in 1985, works for governments, international agencies and nongovernment organizations including the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria. Its main expertise areas include organizational reform and strengthening, sector financing and services planning, costing and delivery, communicable disease control, drug management, clinical effectiveness, and sexual health strategies including responses to HIV and AIDS.

In 2005 we established the HLSP Institute to provide policy analysis, training, and applied research with the aim of informing debate on global health issues, national health systems, and responses to HIV and AIDS.

Euroconsult and BMB

In 2007, after many years of working together, we were joined by international environmental consultant Euroconsult and its management consulting arm BMB, both formerly part of the ARCADIS Group. This development supported our strategic objective to grow our environmental market share and strengthen our service offering for international development.

Working primarily in developing countries and economies in transition, the two firms brought expertise covering land and water, rural development and ecology, plus management consulting services specializing in institutional development for the public, private, and social sectors.

Fulcrum Consulting

Fulcrum Consulting joined Mott MacDonald in 2009 to expand the Group’s building design offering, especially in the area of sustainability.

London-based Fulcrum won recognition at industry and government levels as one of the UK’s leading providers of sustainable energy solutions for buildings and the built environment. The company is a founding member of the UK Green Buildings Council and has fulfilled a number of high-profile advisory roles to the UK government, including seconding several policy analysts specializing in low-carbon housing development.

Merz and McLellan

South Africa and Botswana power consulting firm Merz and McLellan joined in 2010 to help us expand our presence in the African power consulting market. This enabled us to provide a strong combined local and international resource to meet the region’s power infrastructure investment needs over the next 30 years.

Merz and McLellan first came to the region in 1910. Its founders were instrumental in the creation of South Africa’s national electricity supply utility Eskom. Today our Johannesburg- and Gaborone-based power teams offer engineering services for the transmission and distribution sector, all types of renewables, thermal generation, electrical and mechanical inspection, and nuclear power.

Hughes Trueman, MPM and AWT

Sydney- and Canberra-based consultant Hughes Trueman joined in 2010 as part of our strategy to build an Australian base from which to expand across the Australasian region. At the same time we opened offices in Adelaide and Melbourne. Hughes Trueman had been working in southeast Australia for over 50 years and brought us 150 staff in offices across New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, focusing on civil infrastructure including urban development and public infrastructure, plus buildings and services such as structural, hydraulic, and fire design for commercial, industrial, residential, and institutional buildings.

We added Adelaide-based Mortimer Project Management in 2011, bringing specialist expertise in property and construction, and opened offices in Auckland, Brisbane, and Perth.

In 2014 we were joined by specialist water technology and consulting company AWT, based in Auckland and Melbourne. This added a strong water capability to our thriving New Zealand business in buildings and transport and strengthened our Australian water expertise.

Mouchel Energy and Procyon

To expand our oil and gas resources and expertise we brought two specialist consultancies into the Group.

Mouchel Energy, specializing in engineering design for the gas and wider energy sector, joined us in 2011. The move was designed to give us a strong base in the UK gas pipeline business to develop and expand as a center of excellence to benefit clients worldwide.

Procyon Oil & Gas Limited joined us in 2013 to strengthen our ability to provide all phases of upstream oil and gas design, process engineering, construction, and operation for clients operating in both offshore and onshore areas. Procyon’s diverse portfolio covers all project work phases including M&A support, due diligence/independent design reviews, conceptual screening/design, de-bottlenecking analysis, facilities definition, FEED, detailed design, project management, cost and schedule estimation, procurement, construction management, and operations support.

Habtec Engenharia Ambiental

Brazilian environmental engineering consultancy Habtec Engenharia Ambiental joined the Group in 2013 as part of our strategy to create a regional base in Brazil from which we can offer the full range of Mott MacDonald’s services and expand across South America.

From its base in Rio de Janeiro, Habtec has operated principally in the energy, mining,and transport sectors for over 20 years. Its project portfolio includes various environmental impact studies, compliance support, monitoring projects, and environmental education programs for major clients including international energy giants.

PD Naidoo & Associates: Sub-Saharan Africa

In 2013 we acquired South African engineering consulting firm PD Naidoo & Associates and combined its operations with our Sub-Saharan Africa business to create a multisector practice with 800 people working from 15 centers in South Africa, Botswana, and Mozambique.

The culmination of a highly successful working relationship, this move was a key part of our strategy to grow a strong regional business providing multidisciplinary design, implementation, and management services in sectors ranging from property and infrastructure, transport and water to industry, mining, and communications.

PDNA, established in 1986, earned a leading reputation for engineering and technology solutions and for its contribution to nationally significant infrastructure development.

Bentley

Bentley, a design and build company serving the UK water industry, joined us in 2014. The move was a natural progression in the highly successful 15-year partnership between the companies through the joint venture Mott MacDonald Bentley).

Over 80% of Bentley’s business is derived through Mott MacDonald Bentley, which was specifically set up to deliver long-term, high-volume programs of projects for the UK’s water companies throughout the industry’s rolling five-year Asset Management Plan.

Both Mott MacDonald Bentley and JNB have won multiple industry and client awards for safety, innovation, client satisfaction, training, and employee development. This next stage in our long-standing relationship will allow further development to enhance project delivery, while maintaining the shared ethos and culture that have been a hallmark of the partnership’s success.