Rider Levett Bucknall

What Rider Levett Bucknall does

Rider Levett Bucknall (RLB) is an independent global construction, property, and management consultancy founded in 1786 and headquartered in London. The firm operates approximately 120 offices across 36 countries with a workforce of 4,500 employees, serving both public and private sector clients across 15 sector practices including aviation, commercial, data centers, education, healthcare, infrastructure, mixed-use, residential, retail, and sport. Its services are organized around six core lines: Cost Management & Quantity Surveying, Scheduling, Project Management, Advisory, Sustainability & Carbon, and Built Asset Consultancy, delivered through direct professional services engagements, competitive tenders, and repeat client appointments.

RLB's underlying technology rests on proprietary data assets rather than software platforms. The firm maintains what it describes as the world's largest construction cost database, used for cost planning, benchmarking, and forecasting, and publishes the proprietary RLB Crane Index quarterly for North America and New Zealand. It also operates an interactive Construction Cost Calculator and produces quarterly regional Construction Cost Reports. These research products serve both as client deliverables and as top-of-funnel marketing assets that reinforce the firm's thought-leadership positioning. The Global Experience Exchange Program (GEEP) allows employees to rotate internationally for up to one month, supporting knowledge transfer across the global network.

The business model is fee-for-service professional consulting, with revenue generated through project-based engagements spanning feasibility through project completion. Pricing is quote-based and tailored to individual project scope rather than published as standard rates. Marquee client mandates span Charter Hall ($2.5B Wesley Place, Melbourne), UCHealth (multi-hospital cost management program), Brookfield Properties ($880M One The Esplanade, Perth), Landsec (Lucent W1, London), Destination Brisbane Consortium ($3.6B Queen's Wharf Brisbane), Everton FC (£1.3bn Bramley-Moore Dock stadium), and the HKSAR Home Affairs Bureau (Kai Tak Sports Park). The firm is privately held with no disclosed parent company, institutional investors, or PE ownership, and operates as a partnership-style structure consistent with its quantity surveying heritage.

Name

Rider Levett Bucknall

Legal name

Rider Levett Bucknall

Website

https://rlb.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1786

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Rider Levett Bucknall (RLB) is a global independent construction consultancy founded in 1786, providing cost management, quantity surveying, project management, scheduling, advisory, and sustainability services across 15 sectors through 120 offices in 36 countries, serving enterprise and government clients worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices12 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Professional Consulting Services: RLB generates revenue through fee-for-service consulting arrangements providing cost management, quantity surveying, project management, scheduling, advisory, and sustainability services to construction and property clients. Services are typically project-based with engagements ranging from early feasibility through to project completion.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

RLB provides independent construction, property and management consultancy services to clients across the global building and infrastructure industry. Its core work spans cost management and quantity surveying, project management, scheduling, advisory (including claims, disputes and due diligence), sustainability and carbon advisory, and built asset consultancy, delivered across sector specializations such as data centers, healthcare, commercial, sport, infrastructure and mixed use developments.

Product overview

Rider Levett Bucknall (RLB) is a global independent construction, property and management consultancy offering a portfolio of professional services organized around cost management, scheduling, project management, advisory, sustainability, and built asset consultancy. The core service lines include Cost Management & Quantity Surveying (Certainty), Scheduling (Commercial Success), Project Management (Team Performance), Advisory (Specialist Solutions), Sustainability & Carbon, and Built Asset Consultancy. These services are delivered across specialized sector practices including Data Centres, Healthcare, Hotels & Leisure, Infrastructure, Commercial, Residential, Retail, Sport, Aviation, Education & Research, Energy, Mixed Use, Public & Civic, and Convention & Exhibition Centres. RLB also produces proprietary market research products including the RLB Crane Index (quarterly crane count reports) and Regional Construction Cost Reports (quarterly cost analysis by geography), along with a Construction Cost Calculator digital tool. The firm operates through approximately 120 offices across 36 countries with 4,500 employees.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Cost Management & Quantity Surveying Core consulting service providing cost estimating, cost planning, feasibility studies, cashflow modeling, risk assessment and project analysis for construction clients including developers, owners and contractors.
• Project Management Construction project management including construction document management, contract administration, contract procurement, design management support, procurement strategy, site management and specialist consultancy and coordination.
• Scheduling Operational management consulting, program scheduling, forensic scheduling and damages quantum analysis, project schedule management, and public program coordination services.
• Advisory Specialist solutions including claims analysis and management, dispute resolution, expert witness and litigation support, lender and investor services, property condition assessments, due diligence, and construction defects and workmanship standards assessment.
• Sustainability & Carbon Embodied carbon estimating and green building accreditation services to support sustainable construction.
• Built Asset Consultancy Strategic asset management, decarbonization delivery, project delivery, P3/PPP solutions, and professional advisory solutions.
• Data Centre Construction Cost Consultancy Specialized construction consultancy services for data centre projects including cost management, scheduling and advisory for hyperscale and colocation builds.
• Healthcare Construction Consultancy Specialized construction consultancy for healthcare facilities including hospitals, medical centers, and forensic mental health facilities.
• Hotels & Leisure Construction Consultancy Construction cost management and advisory services for hotel, resort and leisure developments.
• Infrastructure Construction Consultancy Construction consultancy for infrastructure projects including transport, utilities and public works.
• RLB Crane Index Quarterly market research publication tracking construction activity through proprietary crane counts across major cities worldwide, published for North America and New Zealand markets.
• RLB Construction Cost Report Quarterly regional construction cost reports providing market data, cost per square foot analysis and regional differences across North America, Canada and other markets.
• Construction Cost Calculator Interactive online tool providing a snapshot of construction market conditions to assist industry professionals and clients with cost planning.

Quantifiable outcome

• RLB has been named Principal Sponsor of Property Council New Zealand / Rider Levett Bucknall Property Industry Awards for 28+ consecutive years
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments15 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Data Centres AustraliaminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 June 2026RLB joined Data Centres Australia as an Affiliate Member, reinforcing its position in the data centre construction consultancy market. This membership provides networking opportunities and market intelligence within the Australian data centre industry.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Turner & Townsend: Direct global competitor in cost management, quantity surveying, and project management services for construction and real estate clients. Closest peer by business model, service mix, and global footprint (60+ countries, 5,000+ employees), acquired by CBRE for ~$2.7B in 2021 — the most direct valuation benchmark for RLB.
• Currie & Brown: Direct competitor in construction cost consultancy and project management with similar sector coverage (commercial, healthcare, infrastructure, sport). Comparable privately-held positioning with similar service lines to RLB's Cost Management & Quantity Surveying practice.
• Gleeds: International construction consultancy offering cost management, project management, and advisory services. Directly competes with RLB on quantity surveying and cost planning mandates across commercial real estate and infrastructure sectors.
• Linesight: Construction cost consultancy and project management firm with notable specialism in data centers, commercial, healthcare, and life sciences. Direct peer particularly relevant to RLB's data center vertical strategy and overall professional services model.

Broad incumbents

• Faithful+Gould (AtkinsRéalis): Quantity surveying and project management arm of AtkinsRéalis (formerly SNC-Lavalin), offering cost consultancy as part of a much broader engineering services portfolio. Competes with RLB on integrated mandates where engineering and cost management are procured together.
• AECOM: Global infrastructure consulting firm with a much broader engineering, design, and program management portfolio. Competes with RLB on large integrated mandates, particularly in infrastructure, transportation, and public sector work where AECOM bundles cost consultancy with broader engineering scope.
• Arcadis: Global design, engineering, and consultancy firm with cost management and project management capabilities within a wider portfolio. Competes with RLB in commercial real estate and infrastructure sectors where clients seek integrated advisory plus execution capability.
• WSP: Global engineering consultancy with significant cost management and project management capabilities acquired through multiple deals. Larger scale and broader service offering position WSP as a competitor for large complex mandates where RLB's cost consultancy is bundled with engineering design.
• CBRE (Project Management): CBRE's Project Management division competes with RLB on cost consultancy and PM mandates for commercial real estate clients, and as the owner of Turner & Townsend is now a consolidated competitor with both a top-tier global player and CBRE's own PM platform.
• JLL (Project Management): Global real estate services firm with a substantial Project and Development Services division offering cost management and PM services. Competes with RLB on commercial real estate mandates where integrated real estate advisory plus construction cost management are procured together.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/rider-levett-bucknall_3
• Xx.com/rlb_uk

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles25 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Rider Levett Bucknall