Buro Happold builds on Tottenham and Everton successes by acquiring stadium specialist

Buro Happold has announced the acquisition of acoustics and audio-visual consultancy Vanguardia Ltd, and its subsidiary Crowd Dynamics International.

Having worked together on renowned sports and entertainment projects for more than two decades, the businesses have helped to deliver venues around the world, including the new home of Tottenham Hotspur, the Emirates Stadium, the O2 Arena, Silverstone Racetrack, Qatar Education City Stadium, The Fisht Olympic Stadium at Sochi in Russia and the London Stadium.

Buro Happold has also been involved in designing Everton’s 52,000-seater Bramley Moore Dock stadium, which was given the green light earlier this year.

“It is a really exciting time for Buro Happold,” said Buro Happold chief executive James Bruce. “Having worked alongside Vanguardia and Crowd Dynamics International for more than 20 years, it’s a natural step to formally bring them into the wider Buro Happold portfolio. We are enhancing our collective consultancy capabilities, creating significant opportunities for our clients.

“Our heritage of tackling global complex engineering challenges in the built environment puts us in the perfect position to advise and design exceptional solutions. This acquisition signals a period of rapid acceleration for our business and the industry as a whole”

Vanguardia director Jim Griffith added: “We are all very excited by the new opportunities that now exists with our new partners including the global reach that it gives Vanguardia and Crowd Dynamics International. This is a great opportunity for our clients and employees, and we welcome the opportunity of sharing our specialist expertise throughout Buro Happold.”

Speaking to NCE when he took over as chief executive at the start of May, Bruce revealed lofty plans to double the size of the business in just six years through acquisitions across the globe.

Buro Happold has already set out on the road to expansion, following the acquisition of higher education consultancy Brightspot earlier this year.

Source:Department of Civil Engineering – International Burch University (ibu.edu.ba)

Department of Civil Engineering:Department of Civil Engineering – International Burch University (ibu.edu.ba)