Oxford Economics buys Australian construction specialist Macromonitor
Global economics and research consultancy Oxford Economics has purchased Australian construction sector specialist Macromonitor, which has been active for close to two decades.
Based in Sydney, Macromonitor is led by three-and-a-half-decade industry veteran Nigel Hatcher, who was up until 2007 an associate director at BIS Shrapnel, which Oxford Economics later acquired in 2017 before its rebranding in 2023.
A frequent commentator in the local media and backed by a small team of economists, Macromonitor focuses entirely on research and forecasting for Australia’s building and construction industry, including as to cost and demand projections.
“Macromonitor has built an exceptional reputation for delivering high-quality research and forecasting to the construction industry, and this acquisition further cements our position as the preeminent independent economics firm for the building and construction sector in Australia,” said David Walker, Oxford Economics’ downunder managing director.
Walker, once a management consultant at KPMG in the UK who also serves on Oxford Economics’ global board and as deputy CEO out of Sydney since joining in 2013 (the firm was founded by the late John Walker in 1981), further said that its Australian arm will now be able to offer an “unparalleled combination of local expertise and global macroeconomic insight.”
Construction’s roller-coaster
Australia’s construction industry, alongside its consulting one, has been on a bit of a wild roller-coaster since the onset of the global Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020. At one point, the former federal Liberal government was looking to build its way out of the unavoidable economic slump, with more than $110 billion worth of green-lit projects in its ten-year pipeline.
It’s difficult to obtain reliable information on where those figures sit today. As one indication, the Australian Big Four has in recent years shed much of its infrastructure consulting force to more sector-specific firms, after a massive previous build-up, while local building businesses have been going belly-up at an alarming rate, leaving many aspirant homeowners seriously out of pocket.
Those who remain in the market can now tap into the combined expertise of Oxford Economics and Macromonitor for current guidance via both advisory and subscription services, covering high-quality research, analysis, and forecasts, with the former stating that the local acquisition forms a key part of its wider strategy to expand its global construction economics capabilities.
“Joining Oxford Economics is an exciting step for Macromonitor and our clients,” Hatcher said. “They will now benefit from access to a global macroeconomic framework, a broader team of consultants with international expertise, and a greater program of events and thought leadership – all while retaining the dedicated team and deep local knowledge they have come to rely on.”
