RPS Group
Global professional services firm
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
RPS Group Limited is a global professional services firm of consultants and service providers, headquartered in Abingdon-on-Thames, England. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange until it was acquired by Tetra Tech in January 2023.
| |
| Formerly | Rural Planning Services |
|---|---|
| Company type | Limited company |
| Industry | Environmental consulting, Upstream Oil and Gas and Renewable Energy consulting |
| Founded | 1970 |
| Headquarters | Abingdon-on-Thames, England |
Key people | Ken Lever (Chairman) John Douglas (CEO) |
| Revenue |  £560.4 million (2021)[1] |
| £28.3 million (2021)[1] | |
| £5.9 million (2021)[1] | |
Number of employees | 5,000 (2022)[2] |
| Parent | Tetra Tech, Inc. |
| Website | www.rpsgroup.com |
History
RPS was founded in 1970, as Rural Planning Services,[3] with founder Michael Boddington as its first chief executive.[4] It was first listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1987.[3]
In the late 20th century, the company expanded under the leadership of a later chief executive, Alan Hearne, and in 2001 he received the Financial Times / London Stock Exchange Entrepreneur of the Year award and company was nominated in the top four for PLC of the Year in the same awards.[5]
In 2014 RPS Group acquired CgMs Consulting, a consultant company speicalising in obtaining significant planning permission in green belt areas.[6]
In August 2022, WSP Global made a takeover offer to purchase RPS Group for £591 million.[7][8][9] In September 2022, RPS received a counter takeover offer from Tetra Tech for £636 million[10] with WSP opting not to increase its bid.[11] RPS' shareholders voted to accept the Tetra Tech offer in November 2022[12] and it was approved by the court in January 2023.[13]