GLASGOW, Scotland--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Accenture (NYSE: ACN) has agreed to acquire Soben, a global provider of construction consultancy services, headquartered in Glasgow, Scotland. Soben' expertise in data center development and the pharmaceutical and energy industries will boost Accenture’s capital projects capabilities in advisory as well as project, cost and commercial management for clients.
Soben works for leading global hyperscalers and co-location providers on major data center construction. Its services include project management consultancy, scheduling, project controls, cost and commercial management, consultancy and advisory, and carbon cost management. With a team of 250, the company serves clients in Western Europe (UK, Germany, Scandinavia, Netherlands), the US, Mexico, Brazil, India and Australia. They will join Accenture’s infrastructure and capital projects practice within Industry X.
Organizations developing capital projects are facing a long list of challenges, new research from Accenture shows, ranging from increased scrutiny from stakeholders to supply chain issues to staffing shortages to cybersecurity risks. As a result, only 6% of the 700 organizations surveyed deliver projects on or ahead of schedule. Two-thirds miss their targets, adding an average of 29% in labor costs and penalty fees to the bill.
These challenges are particularly affecting companies looking to expand existing or to build new data centers. The market is experiencing hypergrowth, particularly in the US, Europe and the Middle East, where Accenture estimates an annual spend of more than $200 billion for the next 3-5 years. Soben will strengthen Accenture’s capabilities for clients to address challenges when planning and executing data center development and modernization projects.
“The market for capital projects and especially data centers is growing rapidly, driven by ever-higher demand for cloud computing and AI and exponential data growth,” said Steve Roberts, senior managing director, Accenture Industry X. “Hyperscalers and co-location companies are under tremendous pressure to deliver on this demand. They need a provider that brings data center expertise plus proven capital projects experience, which is what the combination of Soben and Accenture will stand for.”
“Soben will enhance our infrastructure and capital projects capabilities across Europe, particularly boosting our practice in the UK,” added Maddie Walker, Accenture’s Industry X lead in the UK, Ireland & Africa. “With complex capital projects on the horizon, and increasing adoption of AI, the UK is positioning itself for growth – and the construction sector must ensure it has the innovative thinking, technology, and skills to lead the way. Together, Accenture and Soben bring leading minds in capital projects expertise and emerging technology together.”
“When we started Soben in 2011, our vision was to disrupt the construction consultancy marketplace, and we have now established Soben as one of the key players for capital projects in Europe and North America,” said Scott Smyth, CEO at Soben. “By joining Accenture, we can realize that vision and offer fantastic opportunities for our people to grow their careers. We’re looking forward to bringing Accenture’s global reach and digital capabilities to our clients to help them scale their business fast and deliver exceptional outcomes for their capital projects.”
With Soben, Accenture continues to grow its infrastructure and capital projects capabilities globally and in Europe. The company started scaling this business in 2023 with the acquisition of advisory and management company Anser Advisory in the U.S., and consulting and program management company Comtech in Canada. In 2024, it added BOSLAN, a management services provider focused on net-zero infrastructure in Spain, and IQT Group, a provider of engineering managed services for large infrastructure projects, based in Rovigo, Italy.
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Completion of the acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions.
Forward-Looking Statements
Except for the historical information and discussions contained herein, statements in this news release may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “likely,” “anticipates,” “aspires,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “projects,” “believes,” “estimates,” “positioned,” “outlook,” “goal,” “target” and similar expressions are used to identify these forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance nor promises that goals or targets will be met, and involve a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that are difficult to predict and could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied. These risks include, without limitation, risks that: Accenture and Soben will not be able to close the transaction in the time period anticipated, or at all, which is dependent on the parties’ ability to satisfy certain closing conditions; the transaction might not achieve the anticipated benefits for Accenture; Accenture’s results of operations have been, and may in the future be, adversely affected by volatile, negative or uncertain economic and geopolitical conditions and the effects of these conditions on the company’s clients’ businesses and levels of business activity; Accenture’s business depends on generating and maintaining client demand for the company’s services and solutions including through the adaptation and expansion of its services and solutions in response to ongoing changes in technology and offerings, and a significant reduction in such demand or an inability to respond to the evolving technological environment could materially affect the company’s results of operations; risks and uncertainties related to the development and use of AI could harm the company’s business, damage its reputation or give rise to legal or regulatory action; if Accenture is unable to match people and their skills with client demand around the world and attract and retain professionals with strong leadership skills, the company’s business, the utilization rate of the company’s professionals and the company’s results of operations may be materially adversely affected; Accenture faces legal, reputational and financial risks from any failure to protect client and/or company data from security incidents or cyberattacks; the markets in which Accenture operates are highly competitive, and Accenture might not be able to compete effectively; Accenture’s ability to attract and retain business and employees may depend on its reputation in the marketplace; if Accenture does not successfully manage and develop its relationships with key ecosystem partners or fails to anticipate and establish new alliances in new technologies, the company’s results of operations could be adversely affected; Accenture’s profitability could materially suffer due to pricing pressure, if the company is unable to remain competitive, if its cost-management strategies are unsuccessful or if it experiences delivery inefficiencies or fail to satisfy certain agreed-upon targets or specific service levels; changes in Accenture’s level of taxes, as well as audits, investigations and tax proceedings, or changes in tax laws or in their interpretation or enforcement, could have a material adverse effect on the company’s effective tax rate, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition; Accenture’s results of operations could be materially adversely affected by fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; Accenture’s debt obligations could adversely affect its business and financial condition; changes to accounting standards or in the estimates and assumptions Accenture makes in connection with the preparation of its consolidated financial statements could adversely affect its financial results; as a result of Accenture’s geographically diverse operations and strategy to continue to grow in key markets around the world, the company is more susceptible to certain risks; if Accenture is unable to manage the organizational challenges associated with its size, the company might be unable to achieve its business objectives; Accenture might not be successful at acquiring, investing in or integrating businesses, entering into joint ventures or divesting businesses; Accenture’s business could be materially adversely affected if the company incurs legal liability; Accenture’s global operations expose the company to numerous and sometimes conflicting legal and regulatory requirements; Accenture’s work with government clients exposes the company to additional risks inherent in the government contracting environment; if Accenture is unable to protect or enforce its intellectual property rights or if Accenture’s services or solutions infringe upon the intellectual property rights of others or the company loses its ability to utilize the intellectual property of others, its business could be adversely affected; Accenture may be subject to criticism and negative publicity related to its incorporation in Ireland; as well as the risks, uncertainties and other factors discussed under the “Risk Factors” heading in Accenture plc’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and other documents filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Statements in this news release speak only as of the date they were made, and Accenture undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statements made in this news release or to conform such statements to actual results or changes in Accenture’s expectations.
About Accenture
Accenture is a leading global professional services company that helps the world’s leading businesses, governments and other organizations build their digital core, optimize their operations, accelerate revenue growth and enhance citizen services—creating tangible value at speed and scale. We are a talent- and innovation-led company with approximately 799,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Technology is at the core of change today, and we are one of the world’s leaders in helping drive that change, with strong ecosystem relationships. We combine our strength in technology and leadership in cloud, data and AI with unmatched industry experience, functional expertise and global delivery capability. Our broad range of services, solutions and assets across Strategy & Consulting, Technology, Operations, Industry X and Song, together with our culture of shared success and commitment to creating 360° value, enable us to help our clients reinvent and build trusted, lasting relationships. We measure our success by the 360° value we create for our clients, each other, our shareholders, partners and communities. Visit us a accenture.com.
Copyright ©2025 Accenture. All rights reserved. Accenture and its logo are registered trademarks of Accenture.
