Move marks completion of merger with German consultant

British consultancy AA Projects has rebranded to match its new German owner. 

Set up in 1999 and bought out by its management six years ago, the £24.5m-turnover firm sold a minority stake to Drees & Sommer in March 2022. 

Drees & Sommer HQ in Stuttgart

Drees & Sommer’s Stuttgart HQ

It initially began operating as “AA Projects – Part of Drees & Sommer” but will now fully adopt the brand of its Stuttgart-based owner. 

The newly named Drees & Sommer UK has a 230 employees across the country and operates from eight locations including its headquarters in Manchester.  

In the most recent Building Top 150 Consultants, AA Projects ranked 39th.

Kenneth Wood, UK managing director, has joined the Drees & Sommer partnership and will continue to lead the multidisciplinary UK business. 

Wood said: “Ours is not a typical international merger story, nor is it a case of one large consultant swallowing another.   

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“The relationship between AA Projects and Drees & Sommer came about organically, through collaboration on client projects and shared growth ambitions, and that has extended into what has been a fruitful integration process over the last two years. 

“Joining with another independent, entrepreneurial business means we have retained the agility to quickly respond to our clients’ needs, while also creating opportunities to add additional value and expertise to their real estate projects. 

“Our combined proposition could not be more relevant for today’s construction and real estate challenges, where economic turbulence and the likelihood of incoming regulation are driving demand for expert project management and innovative approaches to decarbonisation.”