Incoming Buro Happold CEO’s lofty plans to double size of the business

Speaking exclusively to NCE ahead of the formal unveiling, Bruce revealed lofty plans to double the size of the business in just six years.

With a focus on acquisitions and international expansion, Bruce has set his sights on creating a more resilient business which is less dependant on the success of the UK market.

A former CFO for a number of Omnicom and WPP subsidiaries, including Interbrand and Landor, Bruce was brought in as chief operating office/ chief financial officer at Buro Happold three years ago.

He believes his experience of building multinational companies outside of the construction and engineering sector will aid his growth strategy for Buro Happold.

“We are looking at expanding, at doubling the number of staff from 2,000 to 4,000 employees in the next six years,” Bruce said.

“In the UK, we currently have 1,000 staff – I want us to have a similar presence in Asia, the US and in Europe.”

He added: “This is not growth, for growths sake. The reasoning behind the expansion is to create a more resilient business.

“At the moment if the UK sneezes the rest of the business catches a cold. I want to make sure that we are not so heavily reliant on the success of one region alone.”

Bruce added that the business is also looking to expand in Australia, with “plenty of opportunities” also in Asia.

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

Signalling the dawn of the company’s new direction, it was in fact the first acquisition in Buro Happold’s 45 year history.

Bruce revealed that two more acquisitions are “extremely close” to going through and should be over the line in the next two to three weeks. One is based in the UK and one in the USA, with one of the companies largely geared towards sustainability.

As well as acquiring new businesses and bringing in specialist skills, Buro Happold will also look to upskill its current staff to ensure they are leading from the front in terms of sustainability.

“One thing we have been able to do due to the pandemic is invest a lot more money in training our existing staff,” Bruce said.

“We are a global business, with projects all over the world. But what we have found in the last year is that you don’t need to travel anywhere near as much as we thought you had to.

“Because of that, we’ve been able to slash our international travel budget and save £1M, which we are directly putting back in to training and development.”

Bruce added that a large part of that training will be on upskilling Buro Happold’s workforce to be world leaders in sustainability and carbon reduction.

Buro Happold is in a strong financial position, after recording an 18% year-on-year turnover increase in 2019/20, and a 6% profit rise.

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