Hardies Property & Construction Consultants swallows Dundee surveying firm

Hardies Property & Construction Consultants has continued its acquisition spree after agreeing a deal to buy Dundee-based John Duguid Partnership.

Established in 1929, John M Duguid & Co was the first solely quantity surveying-focused firm in Dundee. Renamed John Duguid Partnership in 1989, when its service range was expanded to include project management and principal designer services, the practice incorporated Edinburgh and Dundee-based surveying firm Muir Summers in 1996.

Hardies’ senior partner, Danny McArthur, said: “Despite the current economic outlook, we remain positive about the future and this acquisition further strengthens our market position in the Dundee and wider Tayside area. In 2010 we purchased WJR Christie & Partners in Dundee in the aftermath of a global financial crisis. That deal led to us becoming the largest construction surveying firm in Tayside; a position bolstered by this latest acquisition.

“The John Duguid Partnership is an ideal fit for us both culturally and in terms of its client base. Dundee continues to evolve through its acclaimed regeneration, and we believe we can contribute to its further development through our skill base, quality of service and extensive in-depth local market knowledge.”

Graham Kerr, Danny McArthur and Robert Muir, pictured outside the V&A in Dundee.

The acquisition sees John Duguid Partnership owners Graham Kerr and Robert Muir become consultants in Hardies with two other staff members joining the Hardies’ team.

Last month, Hardies acquired long-established Aberdeen-based surveying practice BDG Thomson Gray in a “strategic move”. The deal, on undisclosed terms, bolstered Hardies’ service offering in the North-east, where it did not have a quantity surveying department. Founded in 1885, BDG Thomson Gray is one of the oldest quantity surveying practices in Scotland.