​LOWELL, MASS. - TRC Companies, Inc. (NYSE: TRR) today announced it will open an office in London, operating under the name, TRC Companies Ltd.

“We are excited to bring to the London marketplace the unique delivery of services and work products of TRC Companies Ltd.,” said TRC Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Chris Vincze. “This marks for us a significant step in TRC’s long-term global growth initiative, and we look forward to company growth through project opportunities in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia.”

Vincze continued, “Our initial focus in London will be in the transactions area focusing on environmental risks on the buy and sell sides. In addition, we will be addressing Environmental Social Governance (ESG) issues, which will be of particular interest to the investor community there.”

John Payne, the founder and principal of The Payne Firm, Inc. and currently Senior Vice President at TRC, will serve as Director of the London office, which opens for business on July 16, 2012. Day to day operations in London will be managed by Senior Program Manager Will Nitch-Smith.

TRC acquired The Payne Firm, Inc. in September 2011. Payne had formerly been operating in London for three years, building relationships in the private equity and law firm communities, providing deal advisory services and post-acquisition support for clients in portfolio companies.

“The London office team already has years of transaction experience with many of the private equity Global 50, so there will now be a dedicated team of professionals to serve their needs in the U.K. and European marketplaces,” said Payne.

As a founding developer of the Eco-Value-Screen methodology for screening ESG opportunities during due diligence, the TRC Companies Ltd. team has years of experience successfully executing the process, identifying opportunities in diligence, and developing execution plans for implementing environmental improvements post-acquisition.

“Since TRC acquired The Payne Firm, our combined strength of services has provided us with an opportunity for significant growth,” said Payne. “Our talented team of professionals looks forward to delivering not only the trusted advisory services that built the former Payne Firm into a respected brand, but also the broader range of TRC’s environmental expertise to clients in the U.K. and across Europe.”