What Whole Life Consultants does

Whole Life Consultants Ltd (WLC) is a specialist research-led consultancy founded in 2004 as a spin-out from the University of Dundee's Construction Management Research Unit. Headquartered in Dundee, Scotland, with 1-10 employees, the firm provides strategic advice and proprietary software tools to the UK construction and infrastructure sector, with a focus on labour forecasting, whole-life and life-cycle costing, productivity improvement, low-carbon retrofit workforce planning, risk-based asset management, and integrated sustainability assessment. Its client base is concentrated among UK local authorities, regional councils, national agencies, and major infrastructure programmes, with named customers including HS2, Heathrow, CITB, the South London Partnership, Central London Forward, and Homes England.

WLC's technical platform is a suite of proprietary, ISO-aligned software tools refined over more than two decades. Core products include the award-winning Labour Forecasting Tool (LFT) developed for CITB, which generates monthly trade-by-trade forecasts for 28 occupational groups; the ISO 15686-compliant WLC Evaluator for whole-life costing across housing, infrastructure, and PPP/PFI projects; a web-based Productivity Benchmarking Tool; a Low-Carbon Retrofit Labour Forecasting Tool that converts property-level EPC data into occupational demand forecasts; and an Integrated Sustainability Assessment Toolkit with features embedded in the UK Government-mandated Value Toolkit. The firm holds ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015, and Cyber Essentials certifications, and its directors have co-authored UK industry standards including the BCIS Standardised Method of Life Cycle Costing (2008), ICMS3, and the RICS Global Professional Statement on Cost Prediction.

The business model is professional services: project-based consultancy engagements priced on scope, complexity, and duration, typically structured as multi-year contracts with public sector and infrastructure clients. Revenue derives from strategic advisory, bespoke modelling, and tool deployment, supported by thought leadership, conference participation, and direct enterprise engagement. The firm is independently owned, with no disclosed parent company, private equity backing, or public funding rounds, and senior leadership comprises Professor Malcolm Horner (Chairman and Co-Founder), Dr Doug Forbes (Director), and Professor Milan Radosavljevic (Director, appointed May 2026). WLC's research project portfolio is collectively valued at over £12 million.

Name

Whole Life Consultants

Legal name

Whole Life Consultants Ltd

Website

https://wlcuk.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Whole Life Consultants Ltd is a Dundee-based research-led consultancy providing proprietary software tools and expert services in labour forecasting, whole-life costing, productivity improvement, and sustainability for UK construction and infrastructure clients including HS2, Heathrow, CITB, and local authorities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Construction and Infrastructure Consultancy Services

NAICS

Management Consulting Services (54161)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Performance Management & Productivity Consulting (BPAHAGAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Operations & Process Improvement Consulting (BPAHACAB), Change Management & Transformation Consulting (BPAHAGAC), People Analytics, Assessment & Psychometrics Consulting (BPAHAGAH)

Keywords

• Whole life costing
• Labour forecasting
• Construction consultancy
• Productivity benchmarking
• Sustainability assessment

Headquarters

HQ city

Dundee

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Research-Led Consultancy Services: The company generates revenue through consultancy engagements providing strategic advice and research-led insight to the construction sector, with focus on labour planning, cost efficiency, productivity, and long-term value. Projects range from labour forecasting and whole-life costing to sustainability analysis for major infrastructure and low-carbon projects.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Whole Life Consultants Ltd provides research-led consultancy and proprietary software tools focused on labour forecasting, whole life and life cycle costing, productivity improvement, and integrated sustainability assessment for the construction and infrastructure sector. The company delivers strategic advice and evidence-based analysis to local authorities, major infrastructure programmes, and construction bodies, applying PhD-qualified expertise to complex built environment challenges.

Product overview

Whole Life Consultants Ltd operates as a specialist consultancy offering a portfolio of proprietary research-led software tools for the construction and infrastructure sector. The core product suite comprises the Labour Forecasting Tool (developed for CITB), WLC Evaluator software (ISO 15686-compliant whole life costing), the Productivity Benchmarking Tool (web-based performance analytics), and the Low-Carbon Retrofit Labour Forecasting Tool for net-zero workforce planning. These tools are complemented by an Integrated Sustainability Assessment Toolkit whose features have been embedded in the UK Government's Value Toolkit. The company also provides associated consulting services applying these tools to client projects.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Labour Forecasting Tool (LFT)
• WLC Evaluator software
• Productivity Benchmarking Tool
• Low-Carbon Retrofit Labour Forecasting Tool
• Integrated Sustainability Assessment Toolkit
• Research-Led Consultancy Services

Quantifiable outcome

• 30% productivity gains using Productivity Benchmarking Tool
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• CITB (Construction Industry Training Board)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing partnership spanning decades. WLC developed the award-winning Labour Forecasting Tool for CITB and has undertaken detailed assessments of construction demand and supply for Local Enterprise Partnership areas. Partnership includes regional skills analyses and industry research.
• Crossrail InternationalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on UK Green Cities Infrastructure and Energy Programme for Southern African Railways Association workforce analysis.
• Infrastructure and Projects AuthoritycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUK government body supporting major infrastructure projects. WLC contributes expertise to infrastructure planning and efficiency strategies.
• South London PartnershipcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommissioned WLC for labour demand forecasting and low-carbon skills analysis across six South London councils. Partnership includes detailed EPC analysis and workforce planning.
• National Skills Academy for Rail (NSAR)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on skills and employment analysis for rail infrastructure sector.
• North Lanarkshire CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommissioned WLC for low-carbon workforce forecasting and skills gap analysis. Partnership includes Built Environment Skills Summit collaboration.
• Central London ForwardcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommissioned detailed labour forecast modelling workforce required to retrofit over 1.5 million properties across Central London.
• HeathrowcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWLC delivered expert labour-demand forecasting aligning construction plans with workforce availability and long-term industry needs.
• British Board of AgrémentminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on demonstration of how Integrated Logistics Support can assess risks associated with innovative products.
• Cornwall CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOngoing partnership with adaptable and professional dealings. WLC supports Green Skills Coordinator initiatives.
• AIMCH ConsortiumminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommissioned WLC for whole life costs and life cycle costs comparison across different house types and construction methods.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• AECOM: AECOM is a global infrastructure consultancy operating across cost, sustainability and asset management; it touches the same UK and international built-environment opportunities as WLC but at far greater scale.
• Turner & Townsend: Global cost and project management consultancy working on the same large UK infrastructure programmes (HS2, Heathrow) as WLC, with broader service lines but overlapping on whole life cost.
• Mott MacDonald: International engineering and management consultancy providing whole life cost and asset management services alongside much wider infrastructure engineering capabilities relevant to WLC's market.
• Arup: Global engineering consultancy with a broad built-environment portfolio, frequently engaging on whole life cost and sustainability for the same major infrastructure clients as WLC.

Direct peers

• Currie & Brown: Currie & Brown delivers cost management, whole life cost and advisory work across UK infrastructure and real estate, directly comparable to WLC's life-cycle costing and advisory offering.
• BCIS (Building Cost Information Service, RICS): RICS-owned BCIS owns the Standardised Method of Life Cycle Costing that WLC's directors co-authored; both sell life-cycle cost data, analysis and tools to the same UK construction cost consultants.
• Rider Levett Bucknall (RLB): RLB offers whole life costing, cost consultancy and sustainability advisory globally, selling into the same construction/infrastructure segments as WLC's Evaluator-led practice.
• Gleeds: Gleeds is an independent construction cost and project consultancy competing with WLC for whole life cost, asset management and infrastructure planning work for the same UK public-sector clients.
• BSRIA: BSRIA provides building services and asset management research/tools used by the same facilities and housing clients WLC targets with whole life costing and risk-based asset management.
• BRE Group: BRE operates BREEAM and core UK life-cycle cost research, overlapping directly with WLC's WLC Evaluator and Integrated Sustainability Assessment offerings and serving the same construction/infrastructure decision-makers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/2445845

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Whole Life Consultants