Davis Ogilvie & Partners

What Davis Ogilvie & Partners does

Davis Ogilvie & Partners is a multidisciplinary engineering, surveying, and planning consultancy founded in 1932 and headquartered in Christchurch, New Zealand. The firm operates across the South Island through offices in Christchurch, Nelson, Greymouth, Timaru, and Wānaka, providing civil, geotechnical, and structural engineering alongside licensed cadastral surveying, resource management planning, and environmental science services. Its client base spans private landowners, property developers, and central and local government agencies, with named engagements including infrastructure work for multiple regional and district councils, residential land development for Fletcher Residential, and community housing delivery for Ōtautahi Community Housing Trust.

The firm deploys modern field-data capture technology including LiDAR-equipped drones, UAV photogrammetry, 3D laser scanning, and GNSS surveying to support its engineering and surveying workflows. Notable engagements include the Station Bay Subdivision with Stormwater 360 and recurring work for Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency on transport infrastructure. The business model is project-based professional services consulting, with revenue generated on fee-for-service engagements typically tied to infrastructure, land development, and environmental projects. Staff headcount sits in the 51–100 range, consistent with a mid-sized regional consultancy.

Revenue mechanics are anchored in long-cycle civil and land development pipelines in the South Island, with work awarded through competitive tenders, council procurement frameworks, and direct private developer commissions. The firm has incrementally expanded its service surface into environmental science, signalling a broadening of billable disciplines beyond its core engineering and surveying heritage.

Name

Davis Ogilvie & Partners

Legal name

Davis Ogilvie & Partners Limited

Website

https://do.co.nz

Company type

Private

Founded year

1932

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Davis Ogilvie & Partners is a South Island New Zealand engineering, surveying, and planning consultancy founded in 1932, serving government agencies, developers, and landowners with civil, geotechnical, structural, environmental, and surveying services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Engineering Consulting Services

NAICS

Engineering Services (54133), Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services (5413), Environmental Consulting Services (54162), Geophysical Surveying and Mapping Services (54136)

SIC

Services-Engineering Services (8711)

akta.pro primary industry

Civil & Structural Engineering Consulting (BPAHAIAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Geotechnical & Subsurface Engineering Consulting (BPAHAIAB), Water, Wastewater & Hydraulics Engineering Consulting (BPAHAIAD), Public Sector & Policy Consulting (BPAHACAN)

Keywords

• Engineering consulting
• Civil engineering
• Structural engineering
• Land surveying
• Environmental consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Richmond

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Engineering Consultancy Services: Professional services revenue generated from civil, geotechnical, and structural engineering consulting for residential, commercial, and infrastructure projects.
2. Surveying Services: Revenue from comprehensive surveying services including cadastral surveys, topographical surveys, building setout, drone surveys, and 3D laser scanning.
3. Planning and Resource Management: Revenue from resource management planning, resource consent applications, district plan changes, and compliance monitoring.
4. Environmental Science Services: Revenue from contaminated land investigation, asbestos management, occupational hygiene, and environmental remediation services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Davis Ogilvie & Partners is a New Zealand engineering consultancy, established in 1932, providing civil, structural, and geotechnical engineering, land surveying, planning, environmental science, water, civil infrastructure, and land development services to public and private sector clients across the South Island. The firm operates from a Christchurch headquarters and additional offices in Nelson, Greymouth, Timaru, and Wanaka, employing between 51 and 100 staff.

Product overview

Davis Ogilvie & Partners is a multidisciplinary engineering, surveying, and planning consultancy offering integrated services across New Zealand's South Island. The company operates as a unified service offering rather than separate products, providing Civil Engineering, Structural Engineering, Geotechnical Engineering, Surveying, Environmental Science, Planning, Water Services, and Land Development as an integrated portfolio. Services include topographical and cadastral surveys using drone and 3D laser scanning technologies, structural design for residential and commercial buildings, geotechnical investigations and foundation recommendations, contaminated land assessment, and infrastructure design for subdivisions and developments. The company was established over 90 years ago and maintains offices in Christchurch, Nelson, Greymouth, Timaru, and Wanaka.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Civil Engineering

Quantifiable outcome

• Atlas Quarter project completed 2019 - mixed-use residential development with apartments, townhouses, and retail spaces.
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Warren & MahoneyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerArchitecture firm partnered with Davis Ogilvie on the Te Uaka Lyttelton Museum project, where DO provided planning services while Warren & Mahoney delivered architectural design.
• Canopy and Landmark Lile PlanningminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMaster planning collaborators on The Meadows 460-lot residential subdivision development in Richmond.
• Iota and StantecminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEngineering consultancy partners working with Davis Ogilvie and Tasman District Council on The Meadows development's low pressure sewer network design.
• Stormwater 360minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on Station Bay Subdivision where Davis Ogilvie spearheaded the design of the first large-scale Filterra (Biofilter) system with Stormwater 360.
• AquatecminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWater infrastructure partner for TAS Flood Recovery Housing project, supplying Aquatec Package wastewater pump station and buffer storage facility.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Tonkin + Taylor: New Zealand-headquartered environmental and engineering consultancy providing geotechnical, civil, water, and environmental services across NZ. Most direct peer to Davis Ogilvie in terms of NZ-centric, multi-disciplinary land development and infrastructure focus.
• Fraser Thomas: Auckland/NZ surveying, planning, and engineering consultancy offering surveying, civil and environmental engineering. Comparable mid-sized NZ firm with similar multidisciplinary structure and subdivision/infrastructure focus.
• Riley Consultants: NZ-based specialist geotechnical, environmental, and civil engineering consultancy. Closely comparable mid-sized NZ firm focused on land development and infrastructure, similar client mix to Davis Ogilvie.
• ENGEO: New Zealand geotechnical and environmental engineering consultancy serving land development, infrastructure, and resource management clients. Directly comparable in scale, service mix (geotechnical, environmental, civil), and South Island presence.

Broad incumbents

• GHD New Zealand: Global engineering, environmental, and advisory consultancy with New Zealand operations covering water, transport, property, and energy. Overlaps with Davis Ogilvie's civil, water, environmental, and land development offerings at a national scale.
• Stantec New Zealand: Global engineering consultancy with NZ operations spanning water, infrastructure, environment, and community development. Direct overlap with Davis Ogilvie's water, civil infrastructure, and environmental service lines, particularly on Three Waters and flood resilience projects.
• WSP in New Zealand: Global engineering professional services firm with a substantial New Zealand practice covering transport, property, water, and environmental consulting. Competes with Davis Ogilvie for council and developer work but at much larger scale and broader geographic reach.
• Aurecon New Zealand: Global engineering and advisory firm with NZ presence covering infrastructure, land development, and environmental advisory. Competes for similar council, transport, and developer mandates across the South Island.
• Beca Group: Largest NZ-headquartered professional services consultancy, offering engineering, planning, environmental and advisory services across infrastructure, buildings, and industry. Overlaps with Davis Ogilvie across the full South Island project set but operates nationally and internationally with deeper bench depth.

Regional players

• 4Sight Consulting: NZ planning, environmental science, and land development consultancy. Comparable in environmental and resource management planning services, but more North Island weighted, complementing rather than directly competing with Davis Ogilvie's South Island base.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Davis Ogilvie & Partners