Posted on October 11, 2026
Arcadis is planning to sell most of its architecture business and cut 1,000 full-time roles from its wider workforce as part of a strategic restructure, announced in Amsterdam just one week after WSP formally abandoned its intended takeover of the Dutch consultancy.
The firm, currently ranked the world’s third biggest employer of architects with 1,781 architects on its payroll from a total headcount of around 34,000, said it is “actively changing its portfolio” by concentrating investment in sectors and markets where “structural demand is strongest.” Its Architecture and Urbanism division, alongside its China operations including real estate and development activities, accounts for 26% of net revenues and will be divested as part of what Arcadis is calling a “rightsizing” strategy.
A refocused portfolio
The restructure positions transportation and energy and water as Arcadis’s core growth platforms. Together those sectors account for a combined 53% of net revenues, with the firm targeting mid to high single-digit net revenue growth for transportation and high single-digit growth for energy and water. A second growth tier centres on industrial manufacturing and technology, which accounts for 21% of revenues and includes data centres, life sciences and semiconductor manufacturing, where Arcadis is seeking high single-digit growth.
The “rightsizing” plan sets a target of mid-single-digit revenue growth overall, while increasing its operating EBITDA margin by around 100 basis points to approximately 14.5% by 2027–2029.
Chief executive Heather Polinsky says the restructure is “designed to translate our strategic strengths into stronger growth, higher margins and cash generation.” “We are building a more focused, higher-performing Arcadis that delivers sustainable value for shareholders, our people and our clients,” Polinsky adds.
WSP bid the catalyst
The announcement came a week after WSP said on 23 September that it had been “unable to engage” with Arcadis, having had two bids that valued the consultancy at around £3.8 billion turned down over the summer. WSP’s withdrawal cleared the path for Arcadis’s board to present its own strategic direction at an investors’ event in its home city of Amsterdam at the end of last month.
Chief financial officer Simon Crowe adds: “The financial rationale is compelling: a more focused portfolio, a structurally lower cost base and disciplined capital allocation will support higher margins, stronger cash generation and sustainable shareholder returns.”
Architecture and Urbanism: a long acquisition history
Arcadis built its architecture division through a series of acquisitions spanning nearly two decades. Its entry into the sector came with the purchase of US practice RTKL in 2007, followed by the acquisition of Seattle-based Callison in 2014. The two practices were merged to form CallisonRTKL in 2015, with the combined business later referred to as CRTKL.
The firm had considered selling the architecture arm as early as 2017 before recommitting to the sector. In 2022, it acquired Canadian multidisciplinary firm IBI Group, then combined CRTKL and IBI Group to create the Architecture and Urbanism division now scheduled for divestiture.
