Grant Thornton supports ADP Consulting’s sale to Spanish group Ayesa
Sell-side advisor Grant Thornton has congratulated local engineering advisory ADP Consulting on its recent acquisition by ambitious Spanish player Ayesa, marking the latter’s expansion into Australia.
Established in 1966, Ayesa today has a global headcount of more than 13,000 employees providing technology and engineering services to clients in sectors such as energy, buildings, water, and transportation across Europe, the Americas, Africa, and Asia.
Earlier this year, the Seville-based firm added Australia to that list through the purchase of Melbourne-headquartered engineering and sustainability counterpart ADP Consulting, with Grant Thornton assisting with the sale through due diligence and final negotiations.
“We have experienced phenomenal growth and remain determined to continue that momentum,” stated founding directors Laurent Deleu and Jason Afford, who established the business in 2011. “Choosing the right partner to keep accelerating growth ambitions was crucial. Ayesa’s values, capabilities, and commitment to sustainability align perfectly with ours.”
Ayesa’s purchase adds a team of over 300 professionals to a global footprint now spanning almost two dozen countries, including, in addition to Melbourne, five other new ADP outlets covering Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, the Gold Coast and London. The latter was established in 2023, and further bolsters Ayesa’s strategic expansion into English-speaking markets.
“The partnership with ADP is a key part of our international expansion and specialisation strategy, particularly for sustainability services and data centres,” said Ayesa COO Rosalío Alonso, while CEO José Luis Manzanares Abásolo described Australia as a dynamic country to which the firm could contribute its multidisciplinary expertise in large-scale projects.
Ayesa also noted the acquisition as being key to enhancing its own global capabilities in sustainable design within the built environment, citing ADP’s work on some of Australia’s most complex and ground-breaking commercial projects and its diverse industry portfolio including residential, retail, hospitality, education, stadiums, and major mixed use precincts.
Afford added: “Ayesa is at the forefront of advancements in digital transformation, AI, augmented reality, BIM, and digital twins. By joining, we can leverage these transformative technologies to drive efficiencies and set new industry benchmarks for our projects and clients, making them the ideal partner to harness the power of technology and expand into new markets.”
M&A campaign
ADP marks Ayesa’s eleventh transaction in the three and half years since its majority backing by A&M Capital Europe – the private equity affiliate of global consultancy Alvarez & Marsal – including Dublin-based engineers Byrne Looby. Revenues over that time have also grown from around €250 million in 2020 to now be pushing past the €800 million mark.
With the accounting and consulting firm having provided support for the latest sale preparations, Grant Thornton’s Australian corporate finance practice leader Peter Thornely said, “We are honoured to have worked with ADP Consulting throughout this deal, which will allow them to accelerate their growth ambitions with the scale and reach of a company like Ayesa.”
