CGL's entry into Ground Engineering's Top 10 Consultants marks an important milestone for the business. As the UK's highest-ranked specialist ground investigation business in the list, it demonstrates how a clear growth strategy, investment in people and technology, and a commitment to client service can help a specialist business compete alongside some of the country's largest multidisciplinary engineering firms.
For David Buckley and the CGL team, the achievement is recognition of the work behind that progress.
David explains that CGL set out to become the UK's leading specialist ground investigation business, investing in people, capabilities, technology and geographic reach while staying true to its specialist roots.
Breaking into the Top 10 shows that strategy is working.
"It is recognition of the expertise, commitment and hard work of our people, the trust of our clients and the support of our supply chain partners who have all contributed to this success."
Building the capability to grow
CGL's development has been driven by deliberate decisions about where and how to invest. Expanding its national footprint, recruiting talented people and broadening its technical capabilities have helped the business support increasingly large and complex projects.
That has included investing ahead of demand, ensuring teams have the capacity and expertise to respond as clients' needs evolve. More recently, CGL has developed digital and technology-led services that complement its core ground investigation work, helping clients extract greater value from the information collected.
Being part of Phenna Group has helped by providing investment and support to accelerate those ambitions while retaining CGL's specialist focus and culture. Access to complementary services from other Group companies also enables CGL to respond to a wider range of client needs and support large national projects with a broader technical offering.
"Phenna recognised the potential of our growth strategy and has backed us in executing it," David explains. "That combination of investment, support and trust has helped us scale the business while remaining focused on what we do best."
Turning ground data into confident decisions
Ground conditions can significantly affect project costs, timescales and safety. CGL's role goes beyond collecting data: its teams help clients understand what that information means and use it to make practical engineering decisions.
Its work on ASTI energy projects in Scotland illustrates that approach. Faced with technically and logistically challenging ground conditions, CGL combined specialist geotechnical expertise, innovative investigation techniques and close collaboration with the project team to deliver ground data that reduced uncertainty and supported confident design decisions.
The same principles apply across major infrastructure, complex urban developments and contaminated land projects. By understanding each client's objectives and tailoring investigations accordingly, CGL helps project teams identify and manage ground-related risks.
Keeping people and quality at the centre
As the business has expanded, maintaining technical standards and strong customer relationships has remained essential.
"Growth is only sustainable if quality grows with it," says David. "We have worked hard to maintain a culture where technical excellence remains at the heart of everything we do."
Training, mentoring and professional development are central to that commitment, supported by strong quality assurance processes. Senior leaders also remain actively involved in projects and client relationships, helping preserve the responsiveness and personal service customers value.
Developing the next generation of specialists and leaders is equally important. Through structured training and opportunities to take on greater responsibility, CGL is helping its people build long-term careers while strengthening the expertise the business will need for its next stage of growth.
Meeting more client needs through Phenna Group
CGL's experience reflects Phenna Group's approach to supporting ambitious specialist businesses: trusted operational leadership with strong central support, enabling companies to develop while retaining their identity and entrepreneurial spirit.
For CGL, this has meant investment in people, operational capability, technology and new services, alongside access to complementary expertise across the Group. By combining its ground investigation and geotechnical capabilities with services from other Phenna companies, CGL can help clients address technical requirements beyond its own specialist remit.
This broader offering is particularly valuable on large national projects, where clients need several technical disciplines to work together across multiple locations. Collaboration across Phenna Group enables CGL to draw on the capabilities and geographic reach of other specialist businesses, helping simplify procurement, improve coordination and provide more comprehensive support as project needs evolve.
"One of the strengths of Phenna Group is access to complementary specialist expertise," David explains. "Increasingly, clients are looking for integrated solutions, and our ability to collaborate with other companies across the Group allows us to offer a broader range of technical services while maintaining specialist excellence in each discipline."
"A key reason for CGL's success within Phenna Group has been the respect shown for our culture, brand and way of working," says David. "We have retained the values, leadership approach and customer focus that built the business over many years."
Stuart Abbs, Managing Director of Phenna Group's Infrastructure Division, added: "CGL's achievement is a credit to David and the whole team. They have pursued a clear ambition, building on their specialist expertise while investing in the people and capabilities needed for future growth. Our role is to support that ambition, giving the team the backing to explore new opportunities while retaining what makes CGL successful. It is fantastic to see that approach reflected in this recognition."
Looking beyond the ranking
CGL sees further opportunities across infrastructure, energy, water, housing and environmental sectors, alongside growing demand for digital geotechnical and asset management services.
Its Tromino service, which helps clients understand ground response and vibration characteristics, is one example of how the business is extending its technical offering. Combining high-quality investigations with digital insight will help clients better understand both ground conditions and asset performance.
Alongside developing its own services, CGL sees further opportunities to work with other Phenna businesses to meet a broader range of client requirements across these sectors. Combining specialist expertise across the Group will help CGL support larger national projects while maintaining the technical quality and close customer relationships that underpin its success. For David, the Top 10 ranking marks progress, with further ambitions ahead.
"The Top 10 ranking is an important milestone, but we see it as evidence that our ambitious growth strategy is working rather than the destination itself."
CGL is part of Phenna Group's Infrastructure Division, bringing together specialist expertise to support projects across the UK and internationally. Explore the division to discover how our businesses work together to meet a broader range of client needs.