Mike Pugsley and Amar Qureshi with Anne Tiedemann, chair of the Employee Owned Trust
Agilia Infrastructure Partners joint CEOs, Amar Qureshi and Mike Pugsley, are at the forefront of transforming Britain’s infrastructure landscape. Their journey, rooted in public service and innovation, has led to the creation of one of the UK’s fastest-growing consultancies
In 2016, Amar and Mike joined forces to establish Agilia and quickly distinguished themselves through their hands-on approach to project and programme development, across the energy, water, transport and defence sectors.
“We’re not just advisors,” Mike explains. “We roll up our sleeves and work alongside our clients to bring projects to fruition.”
Mike, hailing from the northern industrial town of Redcar, and Amar, growing up in East London, are passionate about using infrastructure to tackle inequality and transform communities.
Their partnership began whilst they were both working for government in 2006 and then on the landmark Thames Tideway Tunnel, where they helped develop the Regulated Asset Base (RAB) Model as a way of financing projects. This innovative approach not only enabled London’s super sewer, but is now poised to be used in financing new nuclear power stations like Sizewell C in Suffolk.
“We’ve been privileged to work with some really exciting projects,” Amar reflects. “The RAB financing model has delivered the most successful infrastructure project in the last two decades and has now been adopted for use delivering Sizewell C, helping to keep the impact on consumers bills as low as possible.”
People are important
In a bold move, Agilia transitioned to an Employee Owned Trust (EOT) structure in 2023. Amar elaborates, “The EOT structure allows us to attract the brightest and the best. It means that the business’ successes are those of our employees too. We want our team to feel valued and invested in our shared future.”
Alongside their ownership structure, the duo are keen to support the next generation of infrastructure leaders and give back to the communities they are from. Mike explains, “Our people are our best asset, and we want to see them grow as the business continues to.”
Their innovative approach is paying dividends as Agilia now finds itself at the heart of some of the UK’s most exciting infrastructure projects like Sizewell C, as well as supporting Great British Nuclear in the roll-out of the Small Modular Reactor programme and Portsmouth Water in delivering Britain’s first new reservoir in five decades.
Project pipelines are key to success
Both CEOs stress the critical role of pipeline planning and horizon scanning in successful infrastructure development. “It’s not enough to just say we want this scheme or that project,” they assert. “You have to give project developers the forward look so that they can properly plan and resource projects effectively, and you need to be clear about how we will finance them.”
Mike points to the water sector as a prime example, “Ofwat has approved the plans for nine new reservoirs between now and 2050. This helps us plan our resourcing as Agilia will have a part to play in the development of most of these schemes, working with companies like Anglian Water, Thames Water, Wessex Water and South West Water.”
With a wealth of experience across Energy, Water, Transport and Defence, and an expert knowledge in project development and financing, Agilia is well positioned to lead the sector in a new era of growth.
Our message to government
As the government prepares to release its 10-year Infrastructure Strategy, the pair offer this advice to Whitehall, “Work with us on what you want to achieve. Providing a pipeline and agreeing on a model early, with the right sharing of risks and responsibilities, is key to unlocking project delivery on an affordable basis. Let’s harness our natural pragmatism which helps makes us world leaders in developing new models for delivering infrastructure. With the right model and mindset, we can secure long-term economic growth and transform communities across the country.”
To find out more visit www.agilia.co.uk.