Westbridge Capital takes majority stake in Survey Solutions

WestBridge acquired a majority stake in Land Survey Solutions in December 2023, backing a management buyout led by chief executive David Lowe and his senior team, and investing 14.2 million pounds. The transaction provided an exit for RJD Partners and founder James Cooper. It was the second investment from WestBridge III, after the digital commerce agency Tryzens earlier that year. Rebecca Sinclair and Peter Barkley joined the board as directors, with Luke Gilbert as an observer. Founded in 1997 as the surveying arm of the East Anglian structural engineer TA Millard, and independent since a first management buyout in 2004, Survey Solutions measures what is built. Its surveyors establish the precise position and dimensions of land, buildings and underground services before construction begins, set out the reference points contractors build to, carry out hydrographic surveys on water, and then monitor what moves afterwards: tunnels under excavation nearby, bridges carrying new loads, buildings beside deep foundation works. Instruments left in place record displacement continuously, and the readings tell engineers whether a structure is settling within tolerance or whether work must stop. It serves developers, contractors, consultants and asset owners across infrastructure, defence, transport, energy, healthcare, education and construction, among them the NHS, the Department for Education, Thames Water, Transport for London, AECOM, WSP, Jacobs, Balfour Beatty and Kier. David Lowe had joined as chief executive in June 2022, and the company had already grown by acquisition, buying Kempston Surveys in 2020 and Survey Systems in 2021, which took it from a regional operator to a national one. The market is fragmented among small local firms, each holding its own client relationships and qualified surveyors, neither of which transfers to a competitor. WestBridge backed a consolidation strategy on that basis, and Survey Solutions went on to buy JWG Survey & Engineering in October 2024, entering the rail sector, and SurvaTec in March 2025. Cooper Parry advised the management team, with Squire Patton Boggs as legal counsel, while Lava advised the sellers, with Mishcon de Reya on legal and PMSI on commercial due diligence.