UK-based infrastructure developer John Laing has announced that the company is strengthening its team in the US, whilst opening an office in New York City.

Anthony Phillips, currently Head of Asia Pacific for John Laing, is moving to New York in order to take on the role of Head of North America. Simultaneously, John Laing will also recruit locally based staff for the new office in order to address the growing number of opportunities in the many states that have passed Public Private Partnerships (PPP) legislation and are increasingly using PPP to deliver projects.

The company is already part of the Denver Transit Partners consortium, which is delivering new commuter rail lines in the Denver Metropolitan area. It has also recently been selected as part of the I4 Mobility Partners consortium to deliver the I-4 Ultimate highway-widening project in Florida.

Commenting on today's announcement, Olivier Brousse, Chief Executive, said:

"The US is a key market for John Laing and has the potential to offer a significant number of PPP investment opportunities in the future.

"John Laing has developed and invested in over 100 infrastructure projects worldwide in just over 40 years, more than 50 of which have been secured in the past 10 years. With these credentials, we believe we have the skills and expertise to help US authorities deliver high-quality public infrastructure in a cost-effective and timely fashion, particularly in transportation."

John Laing's new presence in the US underlines the company's strategy of international growth and builds on existing offices in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands as well as the UK.

Anthony Phillips will take over his new role in the summer from David Rushton, who has decided to move back to the UK and will join the John Laing headquarters in London. Anthony has been with John Laing for nine years and held senior positions in London and Singapore before taking responsibility for Asia Pacific. Justin Bailey, who has been with John Laing for over three years and has over 15 years' experience of the Australian PPP market, will become Head of Asia Pacific.

The company will retain its office in Toronto to continue to pursue developments in the Canadian market.