CONSTRUCTION consultancy business, Driver Group, has expanded its global presence by acquiring Trett Consulting.

Driver paid £3 million for Trett Consulting, a dispute resolution and contractual advice business which has its headquarters in Leeds.

All 75 Trett employees will move across as part of the deal, which takes Driver’s staff numbers to 230.

Trett, founded by Roger Trett in 1977, and bought by Dutch engineering consultancy Grontmij in 2008, has offices in Altrincham, Coventry and London, as well as in Holland, Abu Dhabi and Dubai, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Houston, Texas. It had a turnover of £14m last year.

Driver, which is based in St Crispin Way, Haslingden, said Trett is an ‘excellent strategic fit’ for the business and has a strong reputation for providing worldwide support in dispute management and resolution and risk assessment expertise.

This acquisition both enhances and strengthens the Driver Group portfolio across the UK, Europe and the international markets.

In additional to UK and Europe growth, Driver-Trett provides the company with a greater presence in its existing markets of the Middle East and South East Asia, whilst introducing the group to new markets in North America.

Dave Webster, chief executive officer of Driver Group, said: “This acquisition provides a global platform for the full service offering of the group plus opportunities to leverage our project services business — not currently provided by Trett, across a world market and a broader sector and client base.

“The combined strength of two of the strongest brands in the dispute and advisory market will ensure both Trett and Driver clients receive unparalleled expertise and advice.

“As our businesses and culture are very similar the integration process should be reasonably straight forward and I am looking forward to working with Trett’s people.”