Acquisition-hungry RSK Group has smashed through the £2.2bn turnover barrier as it continues its rapid expansion across global consultancy and construction markets.

The fast-growing group hiked revenue 21% to £2.2bn for the 15-month period to 6 April 2025, driven by rising demand for sustainable infrastructure, water, energy and built environment projects.

Net fee income rose 13% to £1.1bn, while EBITDA edged up 3% to £122m, reflecting solid operational performance across its network of specialist businesses. After staff costs operating profits were booked at £4.2m down by half on the prior year.

But heavy investment and finance charges on loans of around £910m meant RSK recorded a pre-tax loss of £124.5m for the period (2024: £132m loss).

Despite the headline loss, cash generation remained strong with £105.8m produced from operations, up 12% year-on-year, while cash reserves climbed 34% to £176.8m.

Founder and chief executive Alan Ryder said the results underline the success of RSK’s growth strategy.

He said: “We’ve taken RSK from £275m revenue in 2020 to more than £2bn today – a compound annual growth rate of 52%. The opportunities ahead in sustainable infrastructure and climate resilience have never been stronger.”

Interim CFO Frank Herlihy added: “We continue to invest heavily in people and businesses that enhance our capabilities and global reach. The benefits of this approach will be realised in the medium term through revenue synergies and margin improvement.”

RSK completed 11 acquisitions during the period, including eb7, Apollo Strategic Communications, 3BM Group, Kendall Kingscott, Edge Impact, Pegasys, N-Able Group and Elsym Installations, strengthening its footprint across the UK, Australia and Africa.

The water division accounted for 43% of total turnover, rising 25% year-on-year, while infrastructure was the fastest growing segment at 36%. Energy and the built and natural environment sectors grew by 9% and 14% respectively.

Ryder said the group’s collaborative “lily pad model” — connecting its many specialist firms to cross-sell and share expertise — continued to unlock growth opportunities.

He said: “We are targeting continued growth, both in revenue and EBITDA, as we seek to capitalise on the strong market conditions and drive revenue synergies across the group.

“Alongside this, RSK plans to continue to execute its acquisition strategy, bringing specialised businesses into the group to further develop our end-to-end sustainable solutions offering in the core markets of water, energy, infrastructure and the built and natural environment.”