TZL 1435 (web)

TRANSACTIONS BOWMAN EXPANDS TEXAS OPERATIONS THROUGH ACQUISITION OF HOUSTON AND SAN ANTONIO BASED TERRA ASSOCIATES, INC. Bowman Consulting Group Ltd. announced it had entered into a definitive purchase agreement for the acquisition of Terra Associates, Inc. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Terra delivers civil design and engineering solutions to clients focused on traffic and transportation planning, water-wastewater solutions, landscape and irrigation systems, office and industrial facilities, and multi-family development. Under the continuing leadership of Vickie Henkel, Terra’s staff of more than 30 professionals work from offices in Houston and San Antonio for both public and private sector clients. In connection with their water-wastewater practice, Terra serves in the role of district engineer for several Texas-based Municipal Utility Districts. “Terra is a company with a 40-year heritage of serving eastern Texas,” said Gary Bowman, CEO of Bowman. “The leadership of Terra has surrounded themselves with a team of committed and energetic professionals who will all be great additions to Bowman. We have been intent on growing our Texas operations and this acquisition, following closely on the heels of our acquisition of 1519 Surveying, fortifies Bowman’s presence in the Lone Star state. Terra’s experience in commercial site work,

transportation design, and utility district services are highly complementary to our portfolio of services and align with our growth plans and evolving market demand.” “Choosing to join Bowman was an easy decision,” saidVickieHenkel, CEOofTerra. “Bowman’s approach to growth is very exciting to all of us at Terra. We’ve gotten to know the leadership at Bowman over the course of the acquisition process and we all feel very comfortable with the decision. Their commitment to helping our leadership and staff grow without changing the core of who we are is a big part of what makes us excited about this opportunity. The opportunity to be a part of an entrepreneurial public company is both exciting and energizing.” The acquisition, which the company expects to be immediately accretive, was financed with a combination of cash, seller financing, and stock. The company expects the Terra acquisition to initially contribute approximately $5.5 million of annualized net service billing. “We are continuing to execute on our commitment to growth at a reasonable price,” said Bruce Labovitz, Bowman’s CFO. “This will be our last acquisition in 2021, and it brings our annualized acquired revenue for the year to approximately $36 million. The Terra acquisition is within our target multiple

range and it meets all of our objectives for operating performance metrics. As is our practice, we will provide more detailed information on M&A activities and pipeline in connection with scheduled quarterly communications.” Terra has provided civil engineering, surveying, economical design, project management and permitting services for multi-family, retail developments, office/ industrial projects, and municipalities for over fortyyears. During its award-winning history, the company has added traffic engineering, landscape architecture and irrigation design services. With multiple certifications including LEED, Texas HUB, and SBE, Terra’s team of more than 30 professionals work every day to exceed client expectations for reliability and innovation. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, Bowman is an engineering services firm delivering innovative infrastructure solutions to customers who own, develop, and maintain the built environment. With 950 employees and more than 35 offices throughout the United Sates, Bowman provides a variety of planning, engineering, construction management, commissioning, environmental consulting, geomatics, survey, land procurement and other technical services to customers operating in a diverse set of regulated end markets.

7. Get more fuel efficient vehicles. Does everyone really need to commute in F-250s and 6.2 liter Denalis? Even though I love some of these fuel-guzzlers myself, smaller hybrid and electric-powered vehicles may be in order now. There is always something you can do to improve your bottom line. Now is the time to do it, if there ever was such a time! Mark Zweig is Zweig Group’s chairman and founder. Contact him at mzweig@zweiggroup.com. “If it hasn’t hit you already, all of us are eventually going to face rising costs for labor, office space, software, insurance, and everything else. And these cost increases will unquestionably affect your profitability.”

MARK ZWEIG, from page 11

4. Take a fresh look at individual staff utilization. Two things I want you to look at in particular: First is design and technical staff who are low utilization-wise when you have record high workloads. That tells you something. No one wants them on their jobs. And secondly, you need to take a hard look at overhead staff that got added when the company was making record profits. Some companies sure seemed to load up on all kinds of expensive non- billable staff at the highest levels in the last few years. 5. Change your bonus plan. Maybe you should take a fresh look at it to see if you need to more directly tie firm performance to individual bonuses. You want everyone to understand that bonuses come only from profits, and aren’t just part of their “deal” regardless of how the firm performs profit-wise. 6. Lower utilities usage. Get an energy audit. Figure out how you can reduce your utility costs. They are going up quickly, and not looking at this expense – even though it isn’t a huge percentage of revenue – could hurt your profitability.

THE ZWEIG LETTER APRIL 4, 2022, ISSUE 1435

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