European environmental alliance forms public limited company 

Three of Europe's major consultancy companies - COWI, Enviros from Britain and Tauw from the Netherlands, together known as the CAT Alliance - have now formed a public limited company, CAT Alliance Ltd. The alliance, which was formed in 1999 and has proved very successful, works with environmental due diligence. In other words, the companies provide consultancy worldwide on environmental and related potential financial risks when buying and selling companies and land.

The three companies each own one third of CAT Alliance Ltd. This gives clients access to a more much extensive insurance coverage in the 50 countries covered by the alliance. The formation of the PLC is also a signal of the seriousness of the three companies' involvement in the market for environmental due diligence. Their goal is to triple turnover to DKK 100 million by 2005.

Considerable turnover

"The decision to form a PLC was spurred by increasing turnover in this field in all three companies, but without focused marketing activities," says Claus Primdal Sørensen of COWI. As the Commercial Director of CAT Alliance Ltd., he - and COWI - play a vital role in the management and development of the new company. CAT Alliance Ltd. controls its assignments centrally and involves competent local advisors as much as possible. This distinguishes the alliance from other global consultants, who typically run their business through subsidiaries.

The alliance has won a major environmental investigation assignment for Amcor Flexible, which has taken over the operation of various factories in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland England, the Netherlands, Belgium, Poland, Germany, Switzerland, France, Portugal and Spain.

Published 28.01.2002