Ethos Engineering Expands to 400 Staff with Hanley Pepper Acquisition as Data Centre Growth Strategy Accelerates
Civil and structural engineering specialist becomes Ethos’ fourth acquisition, strengthening integrated delivery across 21 countries and expanding its critical infrastructure capability
17 July 2026 | editor@breakingground.news
Ethos Engineering has acquired Irish civil and structural engineering consultancy Hanley Pepper Consulting Engineers, marking its fourth acquisition as the Dublin-headquartered engineering firm continues to expand its integrated data centre and critical infrastructure offering across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
The acquisition brings Hanley Pepper’s 39 years of experience in civil and structural engineering into the Ethos group, adding specialist capability in a discipline that has become increasingly important as hyperscale data centres grow in scale and technical complexity.
The deal follows a period of rapid expansion for Ethos Engineering since UK private equity firm Exponent acquired a majority stake in the business in 2024. The company now employs more than 400 people and operates across 21 countries in the EMEA region, representing significant growth from the 259 employees it reported at the beginning of 2026.
While financial terms of the Hanley Pepper transaction were not disclosed, the acquisition continues Ethos’ strategy of building a multidisciplinary engineering platform serving the fast-growing digital infrastructure sector.
Civil and structural engineering has become an increasingly critical component of modern data centre development, extending beyond building design to encompass extensive underground utility networks, drainage systems, foundations and supporting infrastructure required to accommodate high-density power, cooling and communications services.
Ethos said integrating Hanley Pepper enables it to offer clients a unified engineering service spanning mechanical, electrical, civil and structural disciplines, simplifying project delivery while expanding in-house technical capability.
The two firms are already familiar collaborators, having worked together on projects across 11 jurisdictions and sharing a number of common clients. Hanley Pepper’s team will immediately begin supporting projects throughout the wider EMEA business.
The latest acquisition builds on Ethos’ earlier purchase of UK technology design consultancy 3DEC Ltd in January 2026, which added more than 40 ICT design engineers specialising in digital infrastructure, commercial workplaces and education facilities. That acquisition strengthened Ethos’ capability in mission-critical technology systems, while the Hanley Pepper deal extends its expertise into the civil and structural disciplines underpinning major infrastructure projects.
The expansion comes against the backdrop of sustained investment in European data centre development, where demand for engineering expertise continues to grow alongside increasing cloud computing, artificial intelligence and digital infrastructure investment.
The acquisition also follows recent corporate restructuring by Ethos’ parent company. Last month, it emerged that Exponent-backed holding company Holly Bidco had created distributable reserves to facilitate an interim dividend of up to €23 million following its acquisition of Ethos Engineering. Company filings showed Holly Bidco reduced its issued share capital to enable the payment, reflecting continued financial activity following Exponent’s investment, which reportedly valued Ethos at close to €100 million.
Ethos Engineering was established in Dublin in 2005 and has worked on approximately 100 data centre projects across multiple international markets. Its portfolio also includes industrial and manufacturing projects, including engineering services for Diageo’s €300 million carbon-neutral brewery in County Kildare.
According to its latest publicly available accounts, Ethos generated revenues of €39.4 million in 2024, with pre-tax profits of €6 million.
The latest acquisition reinforces continued consolidation within the specialist engineering consultancy market as firms seek to broaden technical capability and offer integrated multidisciplinary services to clients delivering increasingly complex digital and critical infrastructure projects across Europe.
