GRS said that the bolt-on acquisition complemented its growing portfolio of contracting services, which includes enabling works, earthworks, civil engineering and land remediation.
With a turnover of more than £6m, Berkshire-based Soil Science has pioneered a low carbon, zero waste and reversible soil treatment for temporary construction works such as compounds, access roads, piling mats and crane pads.
Known as Sureground, the inert soil treatment system reduces the need for contractors to move large volumes of materials off and onto site during temporary enabling works. As a result it has up to 70% lower carbon impact, results in zero waste and can slash works programme times by as much as half.
Soil Science was set up by Bill Hinge in 2020 after the collapse of his previous business Geotech Soil Stabilisation (trading as Geobind) shortly after a private equity injection.
Since 2020, Sureground has worked for National Grid, Network Rail and a string of Tier 1 contractors. Most recently the team completed work on the Hinkley Point overhead line connection project, involving 24km of haul roads and 82 crane pads.
GRS chief executive Jon Fisher said: “Soil Science is a dynamic business that’s disrupting the soil stabilisation sector with a proven and cost-effective turnkey solution. We’re hugely impressed by Sureground as a more sustainable alternative to traditional techniques for stabilising ground. Soil Science fits well with other activities in our Integrated Solutions division and we’re excited about growing this business together.”
Bill Hinge said: “We are delighted to be joining the GRS Group. The deal gives us financial stability and gives Sureground great credibility in our sector. This means that our customers can have greater confidence in our capacity and capability to support major infrastructure projects in the long term. We’re looking forward to working with the GRS Integrated Solutions team to grow the business and accelerate the adoption of Sureground.”
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