Consultants were sprinting into a sunny, cloudless horizon in the last Top 150 before the Brexit vote

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The only way is up

This year, many of our Top 150 consultants are doing very well for themselves but starting to feel the very first tinglings of Brexit. However, in 2015, the last Top 150 before the Brexit vote, the sector was sprinting into a sunny, cloudless horizon as fast as it could. 

“Optimism reigns supreme,” said Building. “Although by no means forgotten, the depressed years of recession are definitely gone […] This new, work-rich environment is changing the power dynamics of the industry. More than anything, consultants are becoming ever more choosy over what jobs they take on – and at what price.” 

Simon Rawlinson, then at EC Harris, said it was “really hard for clients with less of a profile to secure the first tier [on a project] whether it’s a contractor or an adviser”.

Chinese stock markets dropped in the “Great Fall of China”, but London was benefiting from private Chinese investors moving money into UK property. With other international investors, there was huge competition for development sites – “more pounds chasing opportunities than there are opportunities to go round”, said Chris Bennie of TP Bennett. 

To read the article from September 2015, click here

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