Rapleys has acquired the 14- strong Manchester-based architecture practice Northmill Associates for an undisclosed price.
The practice operates across the UK and was established in 2016 by Ged Connor and Ian Grice who are now both partners at Rapleys and will lead the architectural team nationally and principal designer services (BSA and CDM).
Northmill will continue to trade under their own name but as ‘A Rapleys business’ and will operationally form part of the building consultancy division. The practice works across the private and public sectors and the team are specialists in alternative real estate such as automotive and roadside and the public sector, with a focus on education and law and order.
The acquisition is Rapleys’ sixth in four years, with previous deals seeing the company acquire South West planning consultancy CSJ, commercial businesses Aston Rose and Mellersh & Harding, building surveying specialists BlueBrick Consultancy and the retail and hospitality agency and capital markets teams from AY.
Simon Harbour, national head of building consultancy at Rapleys, said: “Northmill Associates are an experienced and respected architectural practice that will work perfectly with our building consultancy teams in Manchester and across the UK. Their governmental advisory work puts them at the forefront of best practice design delivery, strengthening our consultancy offer to provide best value to our clients. This is the sixth business acquisition for Rapleys in just a few years, and we will continue to add other companies, teams and talent that fit our culture and services as part of our sustainable growth strategy.”
Grice added: “We founded Northmill Associates to deliver innovative, technically led architecture for complex projects. Joining Rapleys gives us the platform to take that expertise further, combining our architectural and advisory strengths with its market-leading building consultancy, planning capability and growing Manchester presence. It is a strong cultural and strategic fit, and an exciting opportunity for our team and clients.”
