The purchase of London-based Abell Nepp is the latest in a series of acquisitions as Buro Happold sets its sight on double staff numbers from 2,000 to 4,000.

Since James Bruce, chief executive at Buro Happold, launched the expansion plan early last year, Buro Happold has acquired three other firms including leading acoustics and AV consultancy Vanguardia and its subsidiary Crowd Dynamics International, alongside US sustainability consulting firm Paladino and Company and higher education consultancy firm brightspot strategy.

Bruce said: “We are thrilled a company as highly regarded in the sector as Abell Nepp has joined the growing Buro Happold portfolio”

The acquisition of Abell Nepp follows the recent appointment of John Swift as global sector head for healthcare, science and technology.

Buro Happold has already built a strong working relationship with directors Chris Abell and Bruce Nepp over the past two decades, both prior to and following the founding of Abell Nepp in 2009.

The two firms have collaborated on various projects including Imperial College London’s Michael Uren Biomedical Engineering Hub and the London Institute of Medical Sciences for the Medical Research Council.

Chris Abell, director of Abell Nepp, said: “We’ve built a close relationship with Buro Happold over the past 20 years, so it was a logical move to unite our two like-minded practices. By combining our engineering and deep sector expertise we can leverage the wider capability set of the firm to offer a new level of integration and creativity to our client base.”