RSK Group Funding, Investors & Competitors

RSK Group has raised $645M across 2 funding rounds, most recently a $632M undisclosed-stage round in September 2024.

Last RSK Group funding round

$632M

Undisclosed stage · Sep 2024

Cumulative funding RSK Group raised

$645M

across 2 funding rounds

Key investors in RSK Group

  • Business Growth Fund
  • Ares Management
  • Searchlight Capital Partners
  • Penta Capital

RSK Group Overview

About RSK Group

RSK Group is a global environmental, engineering and technical-services group headquartered in Helsby, Cheshire. Founded in 1989 as an environmental consultancy for energy clients, it now delivers environmental consulting, engineering and design, testing, inspection, certification, compliance and project-delivery services. More than 200 specialist businesses work together on multidisciplinary assignments across water, energy, infrastructure and the natural and built environment. The group serves corporate and public-sector clients internationally and employs more than 17,000 people. Its operating model combines specialist local teams with the wider group's technical, digital and programme-delivery capabilities.


Founded

1989

HQ

United KingdomHelsby

Status

Privately held

Customer focus

B2B

Revenue model

Services

RSK Group Funding History

RSK Group has raised a total of $645M across 2 funding rounds.

RSK Group's first fundraising round was a $12M Series A in December 2016. The most recent completed round was a $632M undisclosed-stage round in September 2024.

RSK Group funding rounds

RSK Group funding rounds
DateStageInvestorsRaisedDeal Summary
Sep 2024Undisclosed stageAres Management (lead); Searchlight Capital Partners (lead); Penta Capital; Business Growth Fund$632MRSK Group Limited is a global leader in environmental consulting and engineering solutions founded in 1989 by CEO Alan Ryder. The company employs 15,000 people across 40 countries and provides end-to-end, bespoke services to clients across the water, energy, construction, and infrastructure sectors. In June 2024, RSK announced a preferred equity investment agreement from a consortium led by Searchlight Capital Partners and Ares Management Corporation funds totaling £500 million, with the investment completing in September 2024 at £520 million after additional capital from existing shareholder BGF (£20 million). Ares simultaneously committed an incremental £300 million debt facility, bringing total available debt facilities to £1.4 billion. The capital raise was designed to support RSK's 2030 Global Strategy, including organic growth initiatives and continued execution of its acquisition strategy. RSK's recent financial performance showed revenue of £796 million in 2022, growing to £1.2 billion in 2023, though the company reported pre-tax losses of £38 million in 2022 and £81 million in 2023. Ares first invested in RSK in 2018, and this strategic investment reinforced that partnership while bringing in new investors Searchlight Capital Partners and Penta Capital LLP.
Dec 2016Series ABusiness Growth Fund (lead)$12MRSK Group is an environmental, health, safety, and engineering services company founded in 1989 by CEO Dr. Alan Ryder, providing environmental impact assessments, clean-up operations, and geotechnical analyses for major infrastructure projects worldwide, with clients including Shell, Taylor Wimpey, and HS2 Limited. In June 2016, Business Growth Fund invested £10 million to support RSK's acquisition of agricultural and environmental consultancy ADAS UK Ltd from administration and its longer-term growth plans. At that time, RSK had turnover exceeding £100 million and employed more than 1,500 staff worldwide.

Who has invested in RSK Group?

4 investors have backed RSK Group across its funding rounds, including Business Growth Fund, Ares Management, Searchlight Capital Partners and Penta Capital.

Lead investors include Ares Management, Searchlight Capital Partners and Business Growth Fund.


RSK Group Investors

Investors in RSK Group by funding rounds participated
InvestorHQRoundsRoleFirst check
Business Growth FundUnited KingdomLondon2LeadDec 2016
Searchlight Capital PartnersUnited KingdomLondon1LeadSep 2024

This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all 4 RSK Group investors.

Start Free Trial

Benchmark 350K+ Funding Rounds and Disclosed VC Valuation Multiples

Sign up to see data on 350K+ funding rounds and disclosed revenue and EBITDA valuation multiples, from seed, through growth stage, to pre-IPO.

Start Free Trial

Acquisitions by RSK Group

RSK Group has acquired 60 companies to date.

Last acquisition by RSK Group was on September 13th 2026. RSK Group acquired Cogency for undisclosed valuation.


Latest Acquisitions by RSK Group

Cogency
Cogency
MSF
BTW
Description
Cogency is an Australian planning, environmental-assessment and stakeholder-engagement consultancy based in Melbourne. The company advises public- and private-sector clients across renewable energy, clean technology, circular-economy, property and infrastructure projects, supporting work from site selection and due diligence through approvals, community engagement and compliance. Its work covers the full development lifecycle and includes wind, solar and battery-storage schemes. Cogency helps developers interpret planning requirements, prepare approval strategies and assess environmental and social impacts. It also manages stakeholder and community engagement and supports ongoing compliance after approvals are granted. The business serves both public authorities and private developers and retained its brand and founder-led management after joining RSK.
Cogency is an Australian planning, environmental-assessment and stakeholder-engagement consultancy based in Melbourne. The company advises public- and private-sector clients across renewable energy, clean technology, circular-economy, property and infrastructure projects, supporting work from site selection and due diligence through approvals, community engagement and compliance. Its work covers the full development lifecycle and includes wind, solar and battery-storage schemes. Cogency helps developers interpret planning requirements, prepare approval strategies and assess environmental and social impacts. It also manages stakeholder and community engagement and supports ongoing compliance after approvals are granted. The business serves both public authorities and private developers and retained its brand and founder-led management after joining RSK.
MSF is a UK highways-infrastructure contractor providing street lighting, traffic signs and signals, highway technology, fibre-network and electric-vehicle infrastructure services. The company employs about 175 people across Northamptonshire and County Durham and works for National Highways and major civil-engineering contractors through directly employed electrical and civils teams. It delivers design, installation and maintenance work across the strategic road network and related infrastructure markets. MSF performs about 95% of projects through its own workforce, giving it direct control over safety, quality and programme delivery. Its customers include National Highways and large civil-engineering contractors, and its project record covers motorway improvements, bridge refurbishment, signage, lighting and intelligent transport technology.
BTW Company is a New Zealand multidisciplinary consultancy serving water, energy, infrastructure, property and environmental projects. Its teams provide surveying, planning, engineering, geospatial, environmental and project-delivery services to public- and private-sector clients, giving the business a broad role across land development and infrastructure programmes. The company employs more than 100 professionals and operates from several offices across New Zealand. Its disciplines include civil, structural, geotechnical and water engineering alongside resource planning, ecological work, surveying, geographic-information systems, drone surveying and three-dimensional mapping. BTW works for property owners, councils, iwi, businesses and communities and supports projects from early land assessment through design and delivery. Its multidisciplinary structure lets clients coordinate technical, planning and environmental work through one regional provider.
HQ CountryAustraliaAustraliaUnited KingdomNew Zealand
HQ City
Melbourne
Melbourne
Northamptonshire
New Plymouth
Deal Date13 Sep 202613 Sep 202610 Sep 20266 Sep 2026
Valuationundisclosedundisclosedundisclosedundisclosed
EV/Revenue
EV/EBITDA

This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all RSK Group acquisitions and their M&A valuation multiples.

Start Free Trial

RSK Group Competitors

RSK Group competitors include listed companies like Accenture, HCLTech, Experian and Cognizant, and private ones like Ryan and CREED.

Public and private companies comparable to RSK Group
CompanyHQStatusRevenueEBITDAValuationRevenue Multiple
AccentureUnited StatesUnited StatesPublicly listed$74B$13B$154B2.1x
HCLTechIndiaIndiaPublicly listed$14B$2.7B$41B2.7x
ExperianIrelandIrelandPublicly listed$8.4B$3B$36B4.7x
CognizantUnited StatesUnited StatesPublicly listed$21B$4B$29B1.3x
RyanUnited StatesPlano, TXPrivate--$7B-
CREEDUnited StatesNew York City, NYPrivate--$6.4B-

RSK Group Public Comps

RSK Group is still privately-owned, but its public comps include Accenture, HCLTech, Experian, Cognizant, Verisk Analytics, Capgemini, Equifax, Nomura Research Institute, Leidos and Bureau Veritas.

Last FYEV/RevenueEV/EBITDA
RevenueEBITDALast FYLTM2027ELast FYLTM2027E
Accenture$74B$13B2.1x2.1x12.4x11.0x
HCLTech$14B$2.7B2.8x2.7x14.4x12.9x
Experian$8.4B$3B4.9x4.7x13.7x13.0x
Cognizant$21B$4B1.4x1.3x7.5x7.2x
Verisk Analytics$3.1B$1.7B9.9x9.5x18.2x16.8x
Capgemini$25B$3.3B1.3x1.2x9.8x7.8x
Equifax$6.1B$1.8B4.5x4.2x15.0x13.1x
Nomura Research Institute$5.2B$693M4.0x3.9x29.9x18.0x

This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all RSK Group competitors and their valuation data.

Start Free Trial

Common questions about RSK Group

When was RSK Group founded?RSK Group was founded in 1989.
Where is RSK Group headquartered?RSK Group is headquartered in Helsby, United Kingdom.
Is RSK Group publicly listed?No, RSK Group is a private, VC-backed company.
How much funding has RSK Group raised?RSK Group has raised $645M across 2 funding rounds.
What was RSK Group's last funding round?RSK Group's last funding round was a $632M undisclosed-stage round in September 2024, led by Ares Management and Searchlight Capital Partners.
Who are RSK Group's investors?RSK Group's investors include Business Growth Fund, Searchlight Capital Partners, Penta Capital and Ares Management.
Which companies are comparable to RSK Group?Companies comparable to RSK Group include Accenture, HCLTech, Experian, Cognizant, Ryan and CREED.
How many companies has RSK Group acquired?RSK Group has acquired 60 companies, including Cogency, Cogency, MSF, BTW and Biota Environmental Sciences.
What was the largest acquisition by RSK Group?The $1B acquisition of Apollo Strategic Communications in November 2024 is the largest acquisition RSK Group has made to date.

See companies similar to RSK Group

Start Your
Free Trial Today

Try Multiples for free for 3 days. Got questions or need a demo? Schedule a call with us below.

Start Trial