Semple & McKillop Consulting Engineers

What Semple & McKillop Consulting Engineers does

Semple & McKillop Ltd is a privately-held consulting engineering practice founded in 1997 and headquartered in Belfast, Northern Ireland, providing mechanical, electrical, plumbing, low-carbon, and specialist technical services for the built environment across Ireland and the UK. The firm operates from four offices (Belfast, Castleblayney, Enniskillen, and London) with 52+ qualified staff and is led by three long-tenured Directors: Mark Kelso, Stephen Finch, and Dan Gilchrist. Its core services comprise Electrical Services Design, Mechanical Services Design, Energy and Environmental Consultancy, Specialist Technical Services, and BIM and 3D Modelling Services, delivered using Revit and IES Thermal Modelling software with BSI-certified BIM Level 2 implementation.

The firm is differentiated by an integrated quality management system certified to ISO 9001, 14001 and 45001, BSI BIM certification, Investors in People accreditation held since 2010, and in-house accreditations for CIBSE Low Carbon Consultancy, BER/EPC Assessment, Passive House Consultancy, and PSDP. It has delivered projects exceeding €500M in school builds over a five-year period, a £70M healthcare portfolio in three years, and serves as Technical Advisor on a €225M Community Nursing Units programme with the National Development Finance Agency. Notable projects include the £26M Erne Campus targeting BREEAM Outstanding and Passivhaus Premium, two £30M London post-primary schools, the £20M Belfast Harbour Studios film studio, and award-winning facilities such as Little Angels School (RIAI Public Choice Award 2026) and the NIFRS Learning & Development College (CEF NI 2025).

The business model is professional services consulting on a project-based, fee-for-engagement basis, secured through competitive tendering, framework agreements, and Technical Advisory roles with public sector bodies. Revenue derives primarily from education, healthcare, housing, commercial, retail, community, industrial, and office sector clients, with a heavy skew toward UK and Irish public sector and government agencies. The firm places project engineers from inception through completion to ensure continuity and repeat-client relationships, and pursues an organic growth strategy centred on technical excellence, accreditations, and industry recognition rather than M&A or external funding.

Name

Semple & McKillop Consulting Engineers

Legal name

Semple & McKillop Ltd

Website

https://semplemckillop.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Semple & McKillop Ltd is a privately-held consulting engineering practice founded in 1997 in Belfast, providing mechanical, electrical, plumbing, low-carbon, and BIM/3D modelling services for the built environment across Ireland and the UK, serving public sector, healthcare, education, and housing clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Belfast

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Consulting Engineering Services: Professional consulting services for mechanical, electrical, plumbing, low carbon and environmental consultancy, and specialist technical services for the built environment. Project-based fees and framework contracts.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Semple & McKillop provides mechanical, electrical, plumbing, low carbon and environmental consultancy, and specialist technical services for the built environment. The practice delivers building services engineering design across sectors including Education, Healthcare, Housing, Office, Residential, Retail and Commercial, with a strong track record in both new build and refurbishment projects throughout Ireland and the United Kingdom. Services are supported by in-house BIM and 3D modelling capabilities using Revit and IES Thermal Modelling software, with BSI-certified BIM implementation.

Product overview

Semple & McKillop is a multi-award winning consulting engineering practice founded in 1997, offering a comprehensive suite of building services. Their integrated service portfolio centers on mechanical and electrical engineering design for the built environment, complemented by specialist technical services including BIM and 3D Modelling, energy and environmental consultancy, and specialized technical assessments. These services work together as an integrated building services offering: Electrical and Mechanical Services Design form the core technical delivery, supported by Energy and Environmental Consultancy for sustainability compliance, Specialist Technical Services for detailed engineering analysis, and BIM and 3D Modelling for coordinated design execution. The practice operates across all sectors including Education, Healthcare, Housing, Office, Residential, and Retail, delivering projects throughout Ireland and the UK from offices in Belfast, Castleblayney, Enniskillen, and London.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Electrical Services Design Comprehensive electrical services design covering lighting design, HV electrical design and distribution, sports floodlighting, life protection systems, and security and IT systems for buildings across the built environment. Delivered as part of an integrated building services offering alongside mechanical and sustainability design.
• Mechanical Services Design Mechanical services design covering heating, ventilation, air conditioning, district heating systems, energy audits, low carbon design and solar energy solutions for buildings. Forms part of the integrated building services offering delivered alongside electrical design.
• Energy and Environmental Consultancy Energy and environmental consultancy covering intelligent building controls, building simulated energy analysis, building physics, SBEM/EPC certification and energy 'in-use' audits. Supports sustainability and regulatory compliance across new build and refurbishment projects.
• Specialist Technical Services Specialist technical consultancy including thermal modelling, lift and escalator design, due diligence reports, facade design analysis, and acquisition and condition surveys and reports. Provides detailed engineering analysis as part of the integrated building services offering.
• BIM and 3D Modelling Services Building Information Modelling services for coordinated digital design delivery, supporting project teams with structured BIM workflows, standards compliance and multidisciplinary coordination. Delivered with BSI-certified BIM implementation using Revit and IES Thermal Modelling.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over €500M in new school build and major refurbishment commissions delivered over 5 years
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Queen's University BelfastcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Queen's University Belfast for student placement programme. Several former placement students have become permanent staff members. Also delivers talks on Women in Engineering at DkIT (Dundalk Institute of Technology).
• National Development Finance Agency (NDFA)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerDelivers Technical Advisory services for procurement of €120M new build schools, €85M housing developments, and €225M Community Nursing Units.
• British Standards InstitutioncoreTechnology or IntegrationBSI certified for BIM implementation and quality management systems. Certification of complete integration of Building Information Modelling within design and business processes.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Arup: Global engineering consultancy with deep building services (M&E) capability across UK and Ireland. Comparable because it offers mechanical and electrical engineering design for education, healthcare, and built environment projects alongside broader multidisciplinary services.
• Mott MacDonald: International engineering consultancy operating across UK and Ireland with strong building services and infrastructure design practices. Comparable due to overlapping public-sector framework work and integrated M&E offering across education and healthcare.
• WSP: Global professional services consultancy with significant UK/Ireland building services engineering presence. Comparable because of shared M&E design work for public-sector clients and participation on similar framework agreements.
• AtkinsRéalis: Global engineering consultancy with substantial UK and Ireland building services capability. Comparable due to overlapping framework-based public-sector work and integrated design offering across education and healthcare sectors.

Direct peers

• Buro Happold: Specialist building services and structural engineering consultancy with strong sustainability credentials and BIM capability. Comparable due to nearly identical service mix: mechanical, electrical, low carbon, and BIM-led design for education, healthcare, and cultural buildings.
• Hoare Lea: UK-based building services engineering consultancy focused on M&E design, sustainability, and BIM. Comparable because of matching service portfolio (electrical, mechanical, low carbon consultancy) and similar client mix across education, healthcare, and commercial sectors.
• Cundall: Multi-disciplinary engineering consultancy with strong building services and sustainability focus across UK, Ireland, and Australia. Comparable due to shared M&E design, IES thermal modelling, BIM, and CIBSE Low Carbon Consultancy accreditations.
• Max Fordham: Building services engineering consultancy known for sustainable design and Passivhaus expertise. Comparable due to deep low-carbon, Passive House, and M&E design credentials serving education, cultural, and healthcare clients.
• Wallace Whittle: Northern Ireland-based M&E consulting engineering firm with UK and Ireland operations. Highly comparable as a direct regional competitor offering the same building services portfolio across education, healthcare, and commercial sectors.
• O'Connor Sutton Cronin: Irish multidisciplinary engineering consultancy with offices in Dublin and across Ireland. Comparable due to similar M&E and building services design work for education, healthcare, and public-sector clients in the Ireland market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/semple-&-mckillop

Compliance6 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 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 Semple & McKillop Consulting Engineers