J.S. Held, a leading multidisciplinary consulting firm, announced today that it has officially entered the global market with the acquisitions of Leach Group and Comando Ingenieria. With the partnership of these two international companies, J.S. Held will be able to provide a greater depth of specialized services to clients throughout the globe.

As a prominent firm based in the United Kingdom, Leach Group has been providing commercial support services to contractors and employers in the construction industry since 1946. Leach has teams of experienced professionals available to support and assist clients throughout Europe, the Middle East and beyond from its offices in the United Kingdom & Abu Dhabi. Effective immediately, Leach Group will change its name to “Leach Group, a part of J.S. Held” with plans to rebrand under the J.S. Held name in the future.

“The combination of J.S. Held and Leach Group will allow us to support and serve our clients with a wider range of services,” said Melvyn D. Smith, Managing Director of Leach Group. “We at Leach Group share the belief system and level of customer dedication that J.S. Held exemplifies, and together we will be able to offer our combined specialty services to an international customer base.”

Mexico City based construction consulting firm Comando Ingenieria has offered building supervision and insurance services with a focus on damage valuation in Latin America since 1986. A well-known name in the field of damage assessment, Comando has extensive experience assessing damage to buildings and other infrastructure resulting from disasters or catastrophic events. Comando Ingenieria will rebrand as “J.S. Held Mexico.”

“We at Comando Group are proud to join J.S. Held to offer our joint services in the global marketplace,” said Raul Losana Alvarado, General Director of Comando. “With our combined expertise, our clients will have a comprehensive solution for a variety of specialty construction and engineering matters.”

“J.S. Held is very pleased to be able to serve clients throughout the global market with the addition of Leach Group and Comando Ingenieria,” said Jon Held, President and Chief Executive Officer of J.S. Held. “Both companies are very highly regarded in their respective fields, and we believe that they will make outstanding additions to our team.”

Continuing a trajectory of strong growth, Comando and Leach Group are the 13^th and 14^th acquisitions made by J.S. Held following a 2015 investment from Lovell Minnick Partners, a private equity firm that specializes in investing in financial and related business services companies. Previous acquisitions include Applied Environmental Health & Safety (AEHS), Bracken Engineering, Antonucci Consulting Corp., Donohue Consulting, Leighton Associates, Spex, Meridian Consulting, CEIPS, U.S. HELM, Lovett Silverman Construction Consultants, Inc., the Property Loss Division of Chroma Building Corp., and Wakelee Associates. 

Since 1974, J.S. Held has added the capabilities of specialized consulting businesses to better address complex construction and environmental matters globally. J.S. Held now has over 500 professionals and over 50 offices across the U.S., Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom and Abu Dhabi.