Chris Ball, director of the nuclear business at Atkins, said all 30 staff at Rotherham-based Bennett will stay on in the enlarged group.

"This is a big opportunity for the future of Bennett," he said.

"We are planning rapid growth for the company in Rotherham. Bennett has unique skills and reputation and, if you couple that with our market access and size, we can take Bennett into places it wouldn't have been able to enter before."

He added that Bennett will boost Atkins's nuclear design capability as it has "a very high reputation in the nuclear sector". Bennett has a strong track record in defence and decommissioning.

The company, which was founded in Rotherham in 1984, specialises in mechanical and structural engineering, particularly the lifting and handling of nuclear-related materials.

At a time when several Yorkshire companies are hoping to benefit from EDF's plans to build four new nuclear power plants in the UK, Mr Ball said the enlarged Atkins group should have an important role to play in their construction.

Last week Spice, the Leeds-based energy services company, said it was gearing up for expansion once French nuclear giant EDF completes its £12.5bn takeover of British Energy. Spice is in line for a number of new contracts once EDF goes ahead with plans to build four nuclear reactors at Hinkley Point in Somerset and Sizewell in Suffolk.

In addition to its nuclear work, Bennett also operates in the aerospace, oil and gas, power, environmental and rail sectors.

Atkins said the deal would expand its nuclear capability and increase its expertise in mechanical design.

Atkins currently has more than 250 staff working across the nuclear industry.

Mr Ball said: "This acquisition will ensure we have the skills in place to respond to increased demand in the new build, decommissioning and generation markets. We're pleased to welcome the MG Bennett team and look forward to working with them."

Nick Cooper, managing director of MG Bennett and one of the founding shareholders, said: "We are really proud of what we have achieved as a business and becoming part of Atkins allows our staff to unleash their full potential.

"I look forward to working with the teams in Atkins to provide solutions to the challenging opportunities in the nuclear industry and also to continue a high level of work for our existing clients."

Earlier this year Atkins won a number of new contracts including a major road maintenance deal in East Anglia and a design contract for Glasgow's M74 motorway.

Atkins has also seen rapid growth in the Middle East and said workloads from its rail operation are robust despite lower activity from Metronet work in London.

The company was a former member of the Metronet consortium charged with upgrading London Underground tracks and stations, which fell into administration last year.

The business is working on major signalling deals for Network Rail at Rugby and Nuneaton and has also won contracts for the design of the Farringdon and Borough Market stations in London.


Looking from a fresh angle

M G Bennett & Associates was formed in 1984 and has developed into a multi-discipline engineering design company involved in major projects across a variety of fields.

The company is centred on a team of experienced design engineers headed by managing director, Nick Cooper. Mr Cooper is one of the founding partners of Bennett Associates and is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineers.

Bennett claims to have an unconventional approach to engineering by focusing on the overall project aim rather than a particular problem.