Brown & Thomson

What Brown & Thomson does

Brown & Thomson is a privately held structural and civil engineering consulting firm established in Auckland, New Zealand in 1976. The firm delivers professional engineering services — structural design, documentation, and professional advice — across residential, commercial, industrial, institutional, heritage, and healthcare development sectors, with a stated specialization in seismic assessment and strengthening of heritage and earthquake-prone buildings. Operating from a single office in Eden Terrace, Auckland, the firm employs 12 engineers, 8 draughtspersons, and 1 office administrator, supplementing core staff with contractors at workload peaks. The firm has completed over 12,000 projects across all regions of New Zealand over its 48-year history.

The firm's offering consists entirely of project-based consulting engineering work performed by its technical staff. Structural analysis is conducted using generic 'latest available software,' and all drawings are produced in REVIT Structure or AutoCAD. The firm has no software product, no app, no API, no integrations, and no digital platform — its commercial output is purely human-delivered professional services. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed; there are no standard rate cards, subscription tiers, or published pricing.

Brown & Thomson serves a diversified client base across six verticals: commercial and industrial developers (the primary segment), residential homeowners and developers, educational institutions, heritage and earthquake-prone building owners, healthcare and aged care providers, and hospitality and tourism operators. The business relies on its 48-year reputation and direct client relationships for project acquisition, supported only by a website showcasing project portfolios and staff profiles. The firm is independently owned by its partners (Hayden Cate, Gary James, Richard Theakston) with two senior associates (Daryl Price, David Pinedo Rodríguez); there is no disclosed private equity, parent company, external investor, or ownership change.

Name

Brown & Thomson

Legal name

Brown & Thomson

Website

https://brownthomson.co.nz

Company type

Private

Founded year

1976

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Structural Engineering Services

NAICS

Engineering Services (54133), Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services (5413)

SIC

Services-Engineering Services (8711)

akta.pro primary industry

Civil & Structural Engineering Consulting (BPAHAIAA)

Keywords

• Structural engineering services
• Civil engineering consulting
• Seismic assessment services
• Heritage building strengthening
• Commercial building design

Headquarters

HQ city

Auckland

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Professional Engineering Services: Provides structural and civil engineering services billed on a project basis. Services include design, documentation, and professional advice for construction projects ranging from minor house alterations to large industrial, commercial and institutional facilities.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Brown & Thomson provides structural and civil engineering consulting services to clients across all regions of New Zealand. The firm delivers structural analysis and design, drawings (produced using REVIT Structure or AutoCAD), documentation, and professional engineering advice for construction projects ranging from minor house alterations to large industrial, commercial, and institutional facilities. Specialist services include seismic assessment and strengthening of heritage and earthquake-prone buildings, multi-unit residential and apartment developments, schools, health and aged care facilities, and hospitality and tourism projects, plus independent professional review engagements.

Product overview

Brown & Thomson is a structural and civil engineering consulting firm established in Auckland in 1976. The company offers professional engineering services across residential, commercial, industrial, institutional, heritage, and healthcare development sectors. Services include structural design, seismic assessment and strengthening, and documentation. The firm has completed over 12,000 projects across New Zealand. Brown & Thomson does not offer a distinct product or platform offering — its offering consists entirely of consulting engineering services performed by a team of 12 engineers and 8 draughtspersons.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Structural Engineering Design and Documentation
• Civil Engineering Services
• Seismic Assessment and Strengthening of Heritage and Earthquake-Prone Buildings
• Apartment and Multi-Unit Residential Engineering
• Commercial and Industrial Building Engineering

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights2 records

Direct peers

• Babbage Consultants: New Zealand-based structural and civil engineering consultancy with similar project mix across residential, commercial, and institutional work, directly comparable in size, service offering, and geographic footprint.
• Dunning Thornton: New Zealand structural engineering consultancy with overlapping expertise in seismic assessment, heritage work, and architecturally driven residential projects across the same customer base.
• Holmes Group: NZ-headquartered structural and civil engineering consultancy with strong heritage and seismic retrofit work — a near-direct competitor in the same specialist niches Brown & Thomson serves.
• Silvester Clark: Boutique New Zealand structural engineering consultancy serving residential, commercial, and institutional clients — closely comparable in scale, service scope, and project type.

Broad incumbents

• BECA Group: One of New Zealand's largest multi-discipline engineering consultancies offering structural, civil, and broader infrastructure services; competes for many of the same institutional and commercial projects.
• Mott MacDonald: Global engineering consultancy active in NZ infrastructure and building projects, providing structural engineering within a broad advisory and design portfolio.
• WSP: Global professional services firm with significant structural engineering capability in New Zealand, competing for large-scale institutional and commercial engagements.
• Arup: Global engineering consultancy with structural engineering capability and active presence in Australasia, competing for complex institutional, seismic, and heritage projects.
• Tonkin + Taylor: New Zealand environmental, civil, and structural engineering consultancy with broader service portfolio and larger headcount, competing on institutional and infrastructure projects.
• Aurecon: Large Australia/NZ-headquartered engineering and advisory firm providing structural engineering within a wide multi-discipline portfolio, competing in commercial and institutional segments.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/brown-thomson

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 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 Brown & Thomson