Ayesa acquires the engineering firm ByrneLooby to drive growth in the UK and Ireland

Ayesa, an international technology and engineering services firm, has acquired ByrneLooby, a civil engineering company with offices in the UK, Ireland and the Middle East.

Founded in 1998 and headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, ByrneLooby operates in the building, environment, transport, port, waste management, water and energy sectors and sits on significant frameworks in the UK, Ireland and the Middle East. The company employs 225 employees and generates an annual turnover of more than 24 million euros.

The acquisition of ByrneLooby is a step forward in Ayesa’s strategy to expand its engineering area in English-speaking countries. Since embarking on this process of international expansion over a decade ago, more than 80% of Ayesa’s engineering work now comes from abroad. Today, the firm has a direct presence in 17 countries in Latin America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

The acquisition of ByrneLooby comes after A&M Capital Europe (AMCE) became a major shareholder in Ayesa. This move seeks to double Ayesa’s footprint over the next five years through growth in the technology sector and the international expansion of its engineering area.

Despite COVID-19, Ayesa hit a record high in terms of sales and new contracts , reaching a turnover of 256 million euros in 2020 and a portfolio valued more than 500 million euros. Today, it has almost 6000 members of staff based in countries around the world.

José Luis Manzanares Abásolo, CEO of Ayesa, highlights how ‘the addition of ByrneLooby to the Ayesa project will undoubtedly generate significant synergy due to the fact that the two firms complement each other so well. ByrneLooby will provide Ayesa with a platform from which to grow in the UK and Ireland, as well as allow it to strengthen its port, marine, coastal, and waste management engineering services, whilst Ayesa will give ByrneLooby a new corporate framework and enable it to grow significantly in all sectors’.

He also notes how ‘ByrneLooby has an excellent senior management team as well as highly qualified members of staff who will make the Ayesa group more international and diverse’, going on to explain how ‘one of Ayesa’s keys to success wherever it is present is its ability to adapt to different cultures’, as well as the fact that ‘something that unites ByrneLooby and Ayesa is our passion for engineering and technical challenges’.

John Byrne, Managing Director at ByrneLooby, notes that “We’re excited to join one of the world’s biggest engineering consultants. This transaction brings together two highly complementary businesses and represents a significant expansion to our services offering for our clients. It also offers marvellous opportunities for our 225 professionals to engage and collaborate with their new Ayesa colleagues. We will drive growth for Ayesa in our core markets through our blended capabilities and expertise, increased scale and resources and Ayesa’s market-leading reputation in engineering solutions and digital technology.”