Drees & Sommer opens London office and considers setting up shop in Birmingham next year

One of Germany鈥檚 largest construction consultants, Drees & Sommer, has decided to take the plunge and set up shop in the UK in spite of Brexit.

The 鈧�285m-turnover (拢262m) Stuttgart-based project manager and engineer opened its first office in the UK in London last month and is already looking at the possibility of setting up another in Birmingham in the new year.

G枚tz Sch枚nfeld, a manager at Drees & Sommer subsidiary DS Consulting, told 黑洞社区 the firm had made the move despite the EU referendum result because it believed in the fundamental strength of the UK market.

He said: 鈥淚t鈥檚 crucial now, I think, regardless of Brexit, to get feet on the ground in the UK market. You can鈥檛 change the position of the UK among the business world in one, two or even 10 years.

鈥淭he UK will still be a very important entrance point for the European market and that鈥檚 what our clients and lots of international companies are thinking - therefore it鈥檚 wise for us to make this step into the UK market.鈥�

David Ribbands, director at Drees & Sommer, agreed: 鈥淲e needed to have a presence in the UK not only because of the import/export market, but because of clients we have that either have a UK presence or are thinking of coming into the UK and want to take us with them as a collaborative partner.鈥�

Ribbands said the firm would target opportunities across all sectors, initially in the capital and the Midlands. He sees the most growth potential in automotive, real estate and industrial work, as well as in the public sector.

Drees & Sommer would like to grow organically in the UK, but will consider making acquisitions in specialist areas.

Founded in 1970, the company employs 2,150 staff across 40 offices worldwide, with operations in the US, Brazil, Russia, China and the Middle East.

Commenting further on the vote to leave the EU, Ribbands said: 鈥淏rexit is a concern, but one the business as a whole has taken on board and has mitigation plans in place depending on whether it is a hard or soft Brexit. Regardless of what happens we will still be here and won鈥檛 suddenly be pulling out.鈥�

He added: 鈥淭he move is something that the business has been looking at for a long time and not something that has been taken lightly.鈥�

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