QS Awards 2008: Best All-round QS Firm

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Turner & Townsend is judged to be the best of the best at the 2008 Awards

Winner

Turner & Townsend

The expansion of services provided by Turner & Townsend for Nationwide Building Society since it was first appointed by the client in 2004 is so exhaustive that you suspect that it is going to be asked to tackle mortgage lending next. With services that include cost management, facilities management and capital works planning, to name but a few, the relationship is a prime example of T&T’s strength in depth. No wonder that this magician of the consultancy world was chosen to manage the Shard project this year – it seems no task is too difficult for the practice. Except, perhaps, those mortgages.

Runners-up

Baqus Group

Last year wasn’t the easiest time for anyone to list on the stock market, let alone a newly formed QS – but Baqus is defying the sceptics with strong performances both in the financial arena and on its projects. The firm, formed out of three separate practices, has drawn on the experience of founders Roger Knowles and Clive Sayer to buck national trends, exceeding the targets set when its AIM listing took place with a turnover of more than £8m and a clutch of complex schemes, including the £1.2bn Watford Health Campus, under its belt.

DBK Group

Thirty-year-old DBK has enjoyed a new lease of life over the past three years – and has embraced it to the full. Following a management buyout in 2005 and a series of acquisitions the firm has tripled in size to achieve a turnover of £13.5m, and the scale of its offering has boomed to match. A year ago the firm launched a health business, a move swiftly followed by the expansion of its BREEAM assessment team to meet a surge in client demand. Throw in the launch of a development consultancy this spring, and it is easy to see why some of the bigger firms are starting to look over their shoulders.

Franklin + Andrews

Franklin + Andrews’ depth of service is nowhere better illustrated than on the Channel Tunnel Rail link, where the firm’s project management, cost consultancy and contract advisory teams ensured that this massive scheme did not hit the buffers. By promoting its full service range to key sectors, the F+A seen its profit margin almost double to 15% over five years, with turnover up by a third to £91m. With staff numbers breaking the 1,000 mark for the first time this year, F+A is clearly right on track.

John Rowan and Partners

John Rowan and Partners is not the sort of firm that baulk at a challenge. At the start of 2007 it launched an ambitious five-year plan to increase turnover by 20% per year, and is defying the credit crunch to raise profit by 34%. At the heart of the company’s success is the breadth of its expertise – from CDM co-ordination to the Decent Homes initiative to hotel refurbishment, JRP is capable of turning in first-class performances all round.