October 2023 – SOCOTEC Acquisition
The most notable news of the month has been the announcement of the incorporation of H+R into the SOCOTEC Group, forming parts of their Buildings and Real Estate Division based in the UK. The process has taken year of careful planning and as the UK’s leading Building Pathologists, H+R are an attractive addition to SOCOTEC’s wide ranging offer to the property and construction industry as Europe’s No1 leader in Testing, Inspection and Certification. H+R will still very much continue its’ activities as usual and will continue to trade as Hutton + Rostron
Nicolas Detchepare, CEO of SOCOTEC UK, emphasised the significance of this acquisition: “H+R, Building Pathology experts, are a perfect addition to our existing building expertise, from building control to engineering. This acquisition not only solidifies our leading position in the Building and Real Estate market, spanning commercial and residential sectors, but also supports our expansion into the dispute and advisory market, offering expert witness services for various disputes. H+R, with their unique expertise, empower us to achieve our ambition of becoming the number one integrated player in the UK Built Environment market.”
James Hutton, managing director, H+R, said: “Buildings and the built environment are essential for the survival of individuals and cultures. The effective and efficient investigation and remediation of failures in buildings and the built environment is therefore also essential. This is a growing problem in a rapidly changing and increasingly complex world, especially under accelerated changes in the societies that occupy them, and under the stress of the climate crisis. Building Pathology is a holistic subject for the investigation, diagnosis, prognosis, and remediation of failures in buildings and the built environment; based on the understanding of buildings as complex systems evolving over time. H+R share this philosophy with SOCOTEC and together we will be able to meet this rapidly growing high value market for all our services.”
Of course, nothing gets in the way of the ‘day job’ and highlights were further involvement at the National Physical Laboratory, the American Naval Monument in Gibraltar, the Savoy and Phoenix Theatres in London’s West End, Durham Castle and the Cabinet Office
The future prospects for Hutton + Rostron and for the field of Building Pathology that we have done so much to initiate and grow in the UK, are now greatly enhanced
