Langdon & Seah

History

The firm has its roots traced to the quantity surveying practice in the United Kingdom of "Horace W Langdon & Every", founded in 1919, which had bought the Singaporean firm of "Waters & Watson" to form "Horace W Langdon & Every incorporating Waters & Watson" in 1946. "Waters & Watson" itself was established in 1933 but ceased operations when Japan invaded Singapore in 1942. Following the Japanese surrender in 1945, original partner Eric Watson restarted "Waters & Watson" in early 1946, roping in young quantity surveyor Seah Mong Hee - joining "Waters & Watson" in 1936 - who helped maintained the office in the months prior to the Japanese invasion. The practice soon flourish and branch offices were soon established in Kuala Lumpur (1947) and Hong Kong (1949) encouraged by extensive post-war reconstruction work in the region.

Also in 1949, Seah Mong Hee – who had operated the office during the war – was made a Partner. The firm underwent further name changes to reflect changes in status, becoming "Langdon & Every (Far East)" in 1954. By 1967, the words "Far East" were dropped to reflect the firm's expansion beyond the region and the practice later became "Langdon Every & Seah" in 1969. In 1988, "Langdon & Every" in the United Kingdom and the Gulf countries amalgamated with "Davis, Belfield & Everest" (a firm formed in 1931 by Owen Davis joined in 1935 by John Belfield and in 1944 by Bobbie Everest) to become "Davis Langdon & Everest". Following the swapping of shares, "Langdon, Every & Seah" thus became "Davis Langdon & Seah" in 1990.

In April 2012, the group was acquired by Arcadis, an international consultancy, design, engineering and management services company.

On May 18, 2012, Davis Langdon & Seah officially changed its name to "Langdon & Seah".