06/17/20 - ENR 2020 Top Professional Services Firms: Planning for a Post-Crisis Future
Gary J. Tulacz
As the nation struggles to cope with the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, construction firms of all types have been thrown off balance. Firms delivering professional services to the industry have been just as affected. But there is one major difference with this group when compared to designers and contractors. Clients increasingly are calling on professional services firms with the pressing question: “What do we do now?”
Most firms have been hit by COVID-19. “There have been delays to outright cancellations of about 10% of our backlog, but we anticipate there may be further delays and cuts when clients have a better idea of the loss of revenue to fund their capital programs,” says Blake Peck, CEO of McDonough Bolyard Peck.
Many private sector clients are pausing to see what happens as a result of the crisis. For example, “venture capital spending has started to slow as market impacts are uncertain,” says Shawn Mahoney, CEO of OAC Services Inc. This will affect private sector projects as new startups will run out of money before they determine the size of large facility build-outs, he says.
Further, owners who were on the “edge” financially are being displaced or are reorganizing to find what the new normal will mean for their markets. “They are seeking out experienced third-party professional services of all kinds to assist in navigating through the rough and uncertain conditions we find ourselves in,” says Yehudi Gaffen, CEO of Gafcon Inc. Read More>
