Accenture to acquire Soben, boosting data center capabilities
GLASGOW, UNITED KINGDOM — Outsourcing giant Accenture has announced its acquisition of Soben, a construction consultancy firm based in Glasgow, Scotland.
While financial terms of the deal were not announced, the merger aims to enhance Accenture’s capabilities in capital projects, particularly in data center development and other sectors like pharmaceuticals and energy.
Enhancing capital projects capabilities
By integrating Soben into its infrastructure and capital projects practice within Industry X, Accenture seeks to address the challenges faced by organizations developing capital projects.
These challenges include increased stakeholder scrutiny, supply chain issues, staffing shortages, and cybersecurity risks, which result in only 6% of projects being completed on or ahead of schedule.
Soben provides project management consultancy, scheduling, project controls, cost and commercial management, and carbon cost management. With a workforce of 250, Soben operates in key regions including Western Europe, the United States, Mexico, Brazil, India, and Australia.
Market growth and strategic alignment
Accenture estimates that the annual spend in the data center market will exceed $200 billion over the next three to five years, particularly in the U.S., Europe, and the Middle East.
“The market for capital projects and especially data centers is growing rapidly, driven by ever-higher demand for cloud computing and AI and exponential data growth,” said Steve Roberts, senior managing director, Accenture Industry X.
“Hyperscalers and co-location companies are under tremendous pressure to deliver on this demand. They need a provider that brings data center expertise plus proven capital projects experience, which is what the combination of Soben and Accenture will stand for.”
Global expansion and future prospects
“Soben will enhance our infrastructure and capital projects capabilities across Europe, particularly boosting our practice in the UK,” said Maddie Walker, Accenture’s Industry X lead in the UK, Ireland & Africa.
“With complex capital projects on the horizon, and increasing adoption of AI, the UK is positioning itself for growth – and the construction sector must ensure it has the innovative thinking, technology, and skills to lead the way.”
Scott Smyth, CEO at Soben, added, “By joining Accenture, we can realize that vision and offer fantastic opportunities for our people to grow their careers”.
Before the Soben deal, Accenture made similar acquisitions to strengthen its infrastructure and capital projects capabilities, including Anser Advisory, Comtech, BOSLAN, and IQT Group.
Accenture has approximately 799,000 employees serving clients in more than 120 countries. The company delivered a solid performance in the first quarter of fiscal 2025, reporting revenues of $17.7 billion, a 9% increase in U.S. dollars, and 8% in local currency compared to the same quarter last year.
After two consecutive years in the top spot, the global professional services company ranked #2 in OA500 2025, an objective index of the world’s 500 top outsourcing companies.
