The UK infrastructure boom is here. And we’re ready for it.

When people talk about the UK’s infrastructure challenge, they tend to reach for the same statistics. Crumbling grid. Net zero targets. Decades of underinvestment.

And yes, all of that is true, but what doesn’t get said enough is just how much work is already in motion, and how fierce the competition is to play a meaningful role in delivering it.

That’s the context for our latest Liberty Blume acquisition – Connections Legal Management (CLM) are a land rights business that has become one of the most respected names in UK infrastructure. Twenty-two people, with deep expertise, working with over 90 clients spanning electricity networks, renewable energy, grid connection and beyond, to deliver an industry leading service.

So what does this mean in practice?

Land rights might not sound like the most glamorous part of infrastructure delivery, but ask anyone who has tried to build a solar farm or extend a grid connection without getting the land piece right and they’ll tell you it’s where projects inevitably stall. CLM specialises in the complex, unglamorous, absolutely critical work that sits between planning permission and first shovel in the ground.

Liberty Blume brings the other half of that equation – the AI powered technology platform, our programme delivery expertise and our broader back-office capabilities. Together with CLM, we can now offer something that frankly didn’t exist before in one place: the full picture, from land and legal through to commercial and delivery.

The numbers behind this deal

Energy, water and waste infrastructure is set to represent more than half of all UK public and private infrastructure spending over the next ten years – roughly £35 billion a year. A lot of organisations are circling that opportunity, whilst very few have the capability to actually capture it at scale.

This is what positions us to do that. Not just compete for it but genuinely deliver on it, in a way that makes a real difference to the speed and quality of projects getting built.

Where this fits in the bigger picture

This is the first significant acquisition since I joined as CEO, and I want to be direct about what it signals for Liberty Blume. We’re not going to be timid about growth and we believe there’s a real opportunity to disrupt the market and create significant value for our clients along the way. We have big ambitions and M&A is one of the ways we get there. But only the right deals, with the right people.

Looking ahead

The UK’s infrastructure challenge is enormous and it isn’t going away. If anything, the pace is accelerating. What this acquisition gives us, and our clients, is the capability to meet that moment with something genuinely differentiated.

We’ll have more to share as we continue to execute our strategy in the market. For now, I want to welcome the entire CLM team to Liberty Blume. We’re building something important here and I’m glad they’re part of it.

Ian Larkin, CEO