Lewis Silkin advises SYSTRA on acquisition of JMP Consultants

Lewis Silkin has advised SYSTRA Group, the world leader for public transport infrastructure on its acquisition of one of the UK’s leading transport consultancies, JMP Consultants Limited.

The deal will see JMP integrate with SYSTRA’s UK subsidiary SYSTRA Ltd allowing SYSTRA to benefit from complementary skills and greater local presence.

In 2014, SYSTRA recorded the highest growth for the sector and aims to recruit several thousand employees over the next few years. SYSTRA is currently working on over 3,500 projects and has assisted in building half of the world’s metro systems.

For the transaction, the cross-departmental Lewis Silkin team was led by corporate partner & Head of the French Desk Marie-Caroline Frochot supported by corporate tax partner Matthew Rowbotham, corporate senior associate Laura May, real estate associate Hannah Vosper and IP & technology associate Sarah Lampard.

The deal adds to the growing number of transactions completed by Lewis Silkin’s dedicated French desk so far this year.

Marie-Caroline says:

“We are proud to have supported SYSTRA on this key acquisition as part of the Group’s growth plan and expansion in the UK. This is an exciting period for the sectors in the UK as public transport networks are due to undergo significant modernization. This transaction follows other significant cross border transactions in 2015 for French clients of Lewis Silkin which is now a destination practice for French companies developing their business in the UK. We will think of new ways to accommodate even better the needs of our French clients and increase the level of resources and expertise in the firm dedicated to them.”