Cordence's Dutch member firm TwynstraGudde grows by 11%

The Dutch member firm of Cordence Worldwide, TwynstraGudde, can look back on a strong period. Last year the consultancy booked double-digit growth and in the first half of 2020, the firm outperformed its own pre-corona expectations.

Around five years ago, TwynstraGudde – founded in 1964 – overhauled its strategy. The consulting firm had struggled with the aftermath of the previous financial crisis in 2008, and decided to take a number of strategic measures to future-proof its business model. One measure saw the firm consolidate its service offerings, while focusing more on project control, and organising the firm’s business operations more efficiently.

According to Director Micky Adriaansens, who has been at the helm since June 2016, the consultancy is now reaping the benefits from this new strategy. “We have reinvented ourselves and built a stronger organisation with a greater market focus. It is great to see that we are now capitalising on this.”

This has led to the strongest growth seen by the consulting firm in over a decade. Sales in 2019 jumped by 11% to over €46 million, while net profit more than doubled from 2018’s figures, improving by 113% to €1.6 million.

Coronavirus resilience

According to an initial estimate by Consultancy.org, the revenues of the global consulting industry will shrink between 15% and 20% by the end of 2020. Strikingly however, while the consulting sector is struggling in the current market – as projects are being paused or even cancelled altogether – TwynstraGudde has continued its positive trajectory throughout the crisis.

“Obviously, we are also seeing projects postponed,” Adriaansens acknowledged, “but in general our pipeline remains well-filled. Customers recognise our added value to help them through the crisis and to look ahead.”

The consultancy has particularly benefitted from its strong track record in the public sector. While companies in the private sector such as KLM, Shell and many other leading businesses have been forced to slash consulting spend as part of cuts in discretionary costs, the government is now a safe haven for external consultants.

Faced with a wave of change to improve services and efficiency, as well as catering to heightened covid-19 demand, external consultants are being called upon in the public sector. TwynstraGudde obtains approximately two thirds of its fee income from the central government, provinces, municipalities, public and semi-public bodies and other government agencies.

But even in the private sector the consultancy firm is performing relatively well. As a result, the firm is now doing better than it budgeted for before corona. TwynstraGudde is mainly active in the areas of mobility and infrastructure, spatial development, energy transition, asset management and public administration. TwynstraGudde also specialises in managing complex programmes and public-private partnerships.

For projects abroad meanwhile, TwynstraGudde benefits from its alliance with Cordence Worldwide, an international network of consultancies with more than 5,000 consultants in 21 countries. This allows it to help clients with local expertise. For example, TwynstraGudde has been active in Asia for years, where it leads, among others, the Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100 and carries out various projects in the field of water management.

5-year plan

Today, TwynstraGudde has around 300 partners, consultants and staff. If Adriaansens – who forms the board together with new appointee Frank van Es – realises her ambitions, then the Amersfoort-based advisory business will grow to 400 employees in 2024. Growth may be accelerated by “small and specific acquisitions,” she said.

Last year, TwynstraGudde was named one of the top management consulting firms in the Netherlands.