Accenture Expands Capital Projects Expertise with Acquisition of Construction Consultancy Soben

Accenture (NYSE: ACN) announced on March 11, 2025, its agreement to acquire Soben, a global construction consultancy headquartered in Glasgow, Scotland. The acquisition aims to enhance Accenture’s capital projects capabilities, particularly in advisory, project, cost, and commercial management services for clients in data center development and other sectors such as pharmaceuticals and energy.

Soben, with a team of approximately 250 professionals, provides project management consultancy, scheduling, project controls, cost and commercial management, advisory services, and carbon cost management. The firm serves leading global hyperscalers and co-location providers engaged in major data center construction projects. Its client footprint spans Western Europe—including the UK, Germany, Scandinavia, and the Netherlands—as well as the US, Mexico, Brazil, India, and Australia.

The company will integrate into Accenture’s infrastructure and capital projects practice within the Industry X business unit. This move aligns with Accenture’s strategy to address the complex challenges faced by organizations developing capital projects, including heightened stakeholder scrutiny, supply chain disruptions, staffing shortages, and cybersecurity risks.

Research from Accenture highlights that only 6% of 700 surveyed organizations deliver capital projects on or ahead of schedule, with two-thirds missing targets and incurring an average 29% increase in labor costs and penalty fees. These challenges are especially acute in the data center sector, which is experiencing hypergrowth driven by escalating demand for cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and exponential data generation.

Accenture estimates that annual spending on data center development will exceed $200 billion over the next three to five years in key regions such as the US, Europe, and the Middle East. Soben’s expertise will enhance Accenture’s ability to support clients in planning and executing data center development and modernization projects amid this rapid expansion.

Steve Roberts, Senior Managing Director of Accenture Industry X, commented, “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. 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.”

Maddie Walker, Accenture’s Industry X lead for the UK, Ireland, and Africa, added, “Soben will enhance our infrastructure and capital projects capabilities across Europe, particularly boosting our practice in the UK. 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.”

Scott Smyth, CEO of Soben, reflected on the firm’s journey since its founding in 2011, stating, “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. 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.”

This acquisition continues Accenture’s global expansion in infrastructure and capital projects. Since 2023, Accenture has acquired several firms in this space, including Anser Advisory in the US, Comtech in Canada, BOSLAN in Spain, and IQT Group in Italy, strengthening its advisory and management services for large infrastructure projects.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed, and completion remains subject to customary closing conditions.

Accenture is a leading global professional services company with approximately 799,000 employees serving clients in over 120 countries. The company combines technology expertise in cloud, data, and AI with industry experience to help organizations optimize operations and accelerate growth. Visit accenture.com for more information.