James Cowper Kreston Corporate Finance advises TSA Riley on further expansion in the UK and Canada

“This partnership significantly advances TSA Riley’s growth, expanding our UK infrastructure offering and marking our entry into the Canadian market. JCK played a key role in identifying the best fit for our strategic growth. Their origination efforts and commercial acumen in the built environment were instrumental in delivering a successful outcome. Thank you to Jack and the team.”

— John Harris, CFO, TSA Riley

The Situation

TSA Riley, a global property and infrastructure consultancy backed by Quadrant Private Equity, was seeking to accelerate its strategic growth in the UK. The focus was on enhancing its infrastructure capability — especially in transport and rail — by partnering with a culturally-aligned business that brought complementary expertise, proven leadership and recognised credibility across the sector.

To support this objective, TSA Riley engaged JCK to provide buy‑side advisory, alongside financial and tax due diligence. Having advised the partners of Henry Riley LLP on their partnership with TSA Management in 2023, we brought a strong understanding of the group’s strategy, culture and long‑term priorities.

Our Approach

Drawing on our sector expertise and previous work with TSA Riley, we delivered a focused and highly targeted search to identify a partner that met the group’s strategic ambitions, cultural values and commercial objectives.

Targeted origination: We conducted a market‑mapping and engagement process to identify culturally aligned and strategically relevant partners. Our origination work uncovered the opportunity and led to constructive discussions.
Supporting the creation of a long‑term strategic partnership: We worked alongside TSA Riley to evaluate and structure its partnership with D2, ensuring the arrangement aligned with the shared values and long‑term ambitions of both teams. By working with TSA Riley through the negotiation process and supporting integration, we helped ensure the partnership was positioned to deliver sustainable, long‑term value for both organisation’s people and clients across the UK infrastructure market.
Cross-border execution: D2’s international footprint required coordinated cross‑border execution. We managed workstreams across UK, Canadian and Australian advisers, addressing jurisdictional nuances and delivering comprehensive financial and tax due diligence, supported by Kreston Global member firms in Canada.

The Result

The D2 partnership marked a significant milestone in TSA Riley’s global expansion through:

Expanding its UK infrastructure offering, particularly across transport and rail programmes.
Entry into the Canadian market, establishing a meaningful presence in Toronto.
Growth of its global team to c.1,100 project consultants, enhancing both expertise and international delivery capability.

The partnership with D2 provided TSA Riley with a strong platform for continued international growth, an enhanced client offering, and greater scale across its core markets. It also further strengthened JCK’s long-standing relationship with TSA Riley and reinforced our reputation for origination-led, relationship driven advisory within the built environment sector.