Sitowise

Growth story

Sitowise – from local consultancy to a Nordic expert in the built environment

Sitowise is a Nordic building and infrastructure construction consultancy company, providing a comprehensive set of design, expert and digital services. The company has set the vision of becoming the most sustainable and responsible partner in the industry. Sitowise was formed in 2017 through a merger of two Finnish technical consultancy companies, building-focused Wise Group and infrastructure specialist Sito. Sitowise Group Plc was listed on Nasdaq Helsinki in 2021. In 2023, the company employed more than 2,100 experts and its revenue amounted to €210 million.

Sitowise was formed when Intera brought together two Finnish consultancies with the same scale in 2017. Building construction-focused Wise Group and infrastructure expert Sito together formed a challenger to the highly fragmented Nordic technical consulting market, which was favorable for consolidators.

The projects in the industry had become increasingly complex, regulation and digitalization increased the need for internal development and employer branding benefited larger players in recruiting the best talents. Intera’s investment thesis was based on the merger of the two companies, which enabled increasing market share through organic growth and add-on acquisitions, as well as international expansion. After the merger, Sitowise became large and multidisciplinary player that was able to serve customers of all sizes in infrastructure and building design.

”The owners of Wise Group and Sito had a common goal to introduce a Finnish contender to the Nordic market. The merger was a logical next step for the companies’ growth, as they shared the same operating environment and challenges but had very few overlapping businesses. The technical complexity, customer requirements and sustainability needs had increased, underlining the importance of highly qualified engineering and consulting work in the field.” says Tomi Terho, partner at Intera and member of the Board of Directors of Sitowise.

Under Intera’s ownership, Sitowise experienced robust growth, expanding to 1,900 employees and €160 million in revenue by 2020. The growth was fueled by a combination of organic efforts, including successful recruiting and employer brand building. Growth was also accelerated by dynamic ‘Buy & Build’ strategy, driven by strong M&A activity with 30 add-on acquisitions during Intera’s ownership. Additionally, strong commitment by over 250 employee-owners pre-IPO was also a crucial factor behind Sitowise’s success.

A significant milestone in Sitowise’s growth was its entry into the Swedish market in 2019 with the acquisition of Byggnadstekniska Byrån. This was followed by three additional Swedish acquisitions, further strengthening Sitowise’s international footprint. During Intera’s ownership the company also built a significant and growing Digital Solutions business unit, providing custom software development and digital SaaS products to its clients in the Nordic infrastructure sector.

“During Intera’s ownership period, Sitowise developed into an integrated, well-functioning and professional institution with a unified entrepreneurial partnership culture. Active and successful recruitment and acquisitions brought in the best entrepreneurs and talents in the industry. We are very happy to have been part of this development,” Tomi Terho continues.

Sitowise was listed on the main list of the Helsinki stock exchange in March 2021. The IPO was well-received by the investors – Sitowise gained more than 9,000 new shareholders, including a wide group of major international and domestic institutions as well as more than 800 employee shareholders. After the successful listing, Intera has remained a major shareholder in the company, having also a position on the company’s Board of Directors.

Sitowise has continued its strong, profitable growth year after year. In 2023, the Group’s revenue amounted to €210 million and it employed more than 2,100 experts operating from locations across Finland and Sweden.

Facts

Industry: Multidisciplinary engineering, consulting & digital services
Established: 2017 (through merger of Wise Group and Sito)
Investment year: 2016

Key figures at the time of investment (Wise Group):
Revenue: €40 million
Number of employees: 500

Key figures upon listing:
Revenue: €160 million (FY 2020)
Number of employees: 1,900 (as of March 2021)