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Who We Are
History Highlights
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 | In 1885, Charles William Bovis acquired a modest building business located in London's Marylebone from its founder, Francis Saunders. It was the beginning of a business odyssey that developed into the internationally renowned construction and project management company known today as Bovis Lend Lease.
Whilst Bovis changed hands again in 1908, it retained the Bovis name and remained a family-managed business until 1974 when it was acquired by the Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O). During those years, Bovis had evolved into a UK wide construction, house building, civil engineering and property conglomerate. Bovis was acknowledged for its fixed fee-based form of contract and strong belief in sharing its client’s aspirations.
Under P&O rationalisation, Bovis focused on house building and construction. In the mid-1980s, under the leadership of Sir Frank Lampl, Bovis sought to become an international force in the construction market. Through acquisition and organic growth, the company expanded into the USA and Continental Europe, then later into Asia and Australia. The result was a business with both global and local capabilities.
Bovis pioneered forms of contract such as construction management and Build-Operate-Transfer, the equivalent of Britain’s Private Finance Initiative, expanding both its skills and its range of clients.
Today, Bovis Lend Lease is a wholly owned subsidiary of Lend Lease Corporation.
Lend Lease was born out of Civil & Civic’s founder and Managing Director Dick Dusseldorp’s vision to create a company that could successfully combine four different disciplines: property, financing, development and investment. In 1951 Dick Dusseldorp formed Civil & Civic to deliver a contract to supply and erect 200 prefabricated houses for the Snowy Mountains Authority. Dusseldorp’s decision to expand Civil & Civic’s capabilities to encompass design and construction as well as property development was crucial to achieving fast, cost effective results and ensuring the company’s success.
With a reputation as an organisation with a broad skills base, Civil & Civic delivered a number of landmark projects. The completion of Australia’s first reinforced skyscraper, Caltex House, furthered the company name and led to the successful tender and delivery of the first stage of Sydney’s iconic Opera House in 1959.
Whilst on its way to becoming Australia’s leading provider of project management services and construction capabilities, Civil & Civic was acquired by Lend Lease Corporation in 1961. Over the subsequent years Civil & Civic was involved in the creation of some of Australia’s most iconic buildings including Australia Square and The MLC Centre as well as the Melbourne Tennis Centre and Sydney Football Stadium. Expansion into Asia followed in the 1970s and 1980s with offices established across the region, headquartered in Singapore.
The acquisition of Bovis by Lend Lease Corporation came about following the successful completion of Bluewater - Europe’s largest retail and leisure development – by Bovis for Lend Lease in 1999. Some six months later, Lend Lease expanded its global presence and position in the real estate business by acquiring Bovis from P&O. The Australian operations of Civil and Civic (then Lend Lease Projects) were merged with Bovis to form Bovis Lend Lease.
Significantly, the official opening of the Sydney Aquatic Centre and Newington Olympic Village was the first project delivered under the new company name of Bovis Lend Lease in 2000.
Today Bovis Lend Lease is one of the world’s leading project management, design and construction companies which continues to grow in size, scope and expertise, forming an integral part of Lend Lease Corporation. |
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