Lyons O'neill

What Lyons O'neill does

Lyons O'Neill is an independent civil and structural engineering design consultancy founded in 2007 and headquartered at City Bridge House, 57 Southwark Street, London. The firm provides design services across the full project lifecycle — from feasibility and concept through to construction completion — for property developers, contractors, local authorities, educational institutions, housing associations, and cultural organisations, with a stated geographic focus on South East England. Its portfolio covers eight named sectors: Education, Commercial, Dwellings, Hotels & Leisure, Housing, Refurbishments & Reuse, Arts & Retail, and Listed & Historic Buildings, alongside specialist service lines including Basements, Solar, Civil Engineering & Drainage (with Sustainable Drainage Systems expertise), Party Wall, Structural Timber (CLT), Specialist Works coordination, Surveys & Inspections, and Temporary Works.

The firm's delivery is anchored in digital engineering practices: Building Information Modelling (BIM) for coordinated 3D design, 3D point cloud surveys for site capture, Kubity mixed-reality visualisation with QR-coded drawings, and the Viewpoint for Projects document management platform. It holds demonstrated expertise in sustainability credentials, with project outcomes including BREEAM 'Excellent' ratings (Phoenix Community Housing HQ, Harris Academy Purley), reuse of 80% of existing structure on a heritage renovation (Vivienne Westwood HQ), and SuDS design using a management train approach. Directors Kevin Lyons and Damian O'Neill lead the practice, supported by a senior engineering team including a dedicated Head of Civil Engineering.

Lyons O'Neill operates as a privately-held, founder-managed professional services firm with no disclosed external investment, parent company, or subsidiary structure. Revenue is generated through project-based, quote-driven professional services fees — no pricing is publicly disclosed. The go-to-market motion is direct B2B sales supported by industry awards (LABC, Evening Standard New Homes, IStructE Kenneth Severn Award, Constructing Excellence SECBE, AJ Retrofit Awards), press coverage, a preferred-supplier partnership with Willmott Dixon Construction, and a content marketing programme focused on sustainability and digital transformation themes. Customer acquisition appears relationship-driven and regional, with no evidence of self-serve or productised channels.

Name

Lyons O'neill

Legal name

Lyons O'Neill

Website

https://lyonsoneill.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Lyons O'Neill is an independent London-based civil and structural engineering consultancy founded in 2007, designing buildings and infrastructure for developers, contractors, councils, and educational institutions across South East England, with specialist expertise in BIM, sustainable drainage, and heritage retrofit.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Civil & Structural Engineering Services

NAICS

Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services (5413), Residential Remodelers (236118)

SIC

General Bldg Contractors - Nonresidential Bldgs (1540), General Bldg Contractors - Residential Bldgs (1520)

akta.pro primary industry

Construction Management (Agency/Owner’s Rep) (IMAFAAAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Residential Design-Build & Renovation-Integrated Builders (IMAFABAE)

Keywords

• Civil engineering design
• Structural engineering services
• Sustainable drainage systems
• Building information modelling
• Party wall surveying

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Engineering Consultancy Services: Professional engineering services for civil and structural design, providing consultancy from initial design through to project completion.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Lyons O'Neill is an independent civil and structural engineering design consultancy providing services from initial concept through to construction completion. The firm delivers design solutions across multiple sectors including education, housing, commercial, arts and retail, hotels and leisure, refurbishments, and listed and historic buildings, complemented by specialist services such as basements, sustainable drainage systems (SuDS), party wall advice, structural timber/CLT design, surveys and inspections, and temporary works.

Product overview

Lyons O'Neill is an independent civil and structural engineering consultancy offering a comprehensive portfolio of design services. The firm operates across multiple sectors (Education, Commercial, Dwellings, Hotels & Leisure, Housing, Refurbishments & Reuse, Arts & Retail, and Listed & Historic Buildings) and provides specialist services including Basements, Solar installations, Civil Engineering & Drainage (with SuDS expertise), Party Wall services, Structural Timber/CLT design, Specialist Works coordination, Surveys & Inspections, and Temporary Works. The core service offering centers on civil and structural design with specialist capabilities in sustainable drainage systems (SuDS), Building Information Modelling (BIM), 3D point cloud surveys, and sustainable construction techniques including BREEAM assessments. The firm also participates in architectural competitions and provides engineering services for building competitions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Civil & Structural Design Services Independent civil and structural engineering design services for construction projects from initial concept through to construction completion, serving property developers, contractors, local authorities, and educational institutions.
• Civil Engineering - Drainage Comprehensive civil engineering drainage services including below ground drainage design using 3D modelling, sustainable urban drainage systems (SuDS), CCTV drainage surveys, hydraulic design calculations, and designs compliant to Sewers for Adoption 7th Edition.
• Basements Specialist basement design and construction services for projects requiring underground spaces, addressing challenges related to excavation, waterproofing, and structural support.
• Solar Solar energy system integration and structural design services for photovoltaic installations on building projects.
• Party Wall Party wall agreement services and structural engineering advice for properties undergoing building work near shared boundaries.
• Structural Timber Cross-laminated timber (CLT) and structural timber frame design services for sustainable construction projects, including hybrid CLT and steel frame solutions.
• Specialist Works Specialist sub-contractor coordination and technical oversight for complex construction elements.
• Surveys & Inspections Structural surveys and inspections with forensic analysis of existing buildings to understand load paths, historical context, and identify sources of structural damage or movement.
• Temporary Works Temporary works design services for main contractors providing responsive and cost-effective solutions that work within construction build sequences.
• Competitions Architectural competition participation and structural engineering collaboration to explore innovative structural forms and push boundaries of experience.

Quantifiable outcome

• Only 1 RFI recorded for below ground services on Nexus project vs double figures typically expected
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• TDO ArchitectsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 April 2023Collaboration on Low Line Arches project, nominated for The Architect's Journal's Retrofit Awards 2023. Partnership for architectural engineering on heritage retrofit projects.
• Willmott Dixon ConstructioncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 July 2016Selected as one of four Consultant Partners for Willmott Dixon Construction, a major UK construction and interior fit-out company. This is a preferred supplier relationship for engineering consultancy services on construction projects.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Price & Myers: Long-established London structural engineering consultancy serving residential, education, healthcare, and heritage sectors. Closely comparable in service mix, independent ownership, and South East England client base.
• Heyne Tillett Steel: London-headquartered structural and civil engineering consultancy with comparable size and sector focus (residential, education, heritage, commercial). Direct overlap: Lyons O'Neill's Head of Civil Engineering Niall Greenan previously worked at HTS as a Senior Civil Engineer, confirming personnel-level market adjacency.
• Conisbee: Independent London structural and civil engineering consultancy with comparable project types (listed buildings, education, residential, commercial). Similar founder-led culture and premium-fee positioning.
• Curtins: UK-wide structural and civil engineering consultancy with strong heritage, education, and residential portfolios. Slightly larger scale but operates in directly overlapping markets and project typologies.
• Simpson Associates: UK structural engineering consultancy where Lyons O'Neill's Senior Structural Engineer James Protherough worked for five years before joining Lyons O'Neill. Demonstrates direct personnel overlap and comparable project scope.

Broad incumbents

• WSP: Global professional services firm with extensive structural and civil engineering capability in the UK. Competes for the same client base (developers, councils, education sector) but from a publicly-listed, multi-discipline platform.
• Arup: Global engineering consultancy with deep structural, civil, and sustainability practices. Competes with Lyons O'Neill on premium UK projects but operates at vastly larger scale and multi-discipline breadth.
• Buro Happold: International engineering consultancy with strong structural and sustainability credentials overlapping Lyons O'Neill's BREEAM, SuDS, and CLT expertise, but competing from a multi-discipline, multi-region platform.
• Mott MacDonald: Global engineering consultancy with significant UK structural and civil engineering presence in education, housing, and transport-adjacent built environment projects — overlapping Lyons O'Neill's public-sector client base.

Regional players

• Clarke Saunders Associates: Smaller UK structural and civil engineering consultancy serving a comparable South East / London client base on education, residential, and commercial projects at similar fee scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

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 Lyons O'neill