RSK Group, a global leader in the delivery of environmental and engineering solutions, has significantly strengthened its presence in the UK transport infrastructure sector with the acquisition of Octavius Infrastructure from Sullivan Street Partners.
Octavius is one of the UK’s leading civil engineering and electrification transport infrastructure businesses, with over 700 employees working across rail and highways. The business has long-standing relationships with key customers in the sector such as Network Rail, National Highways, and Transport for London, and has a rich portfolio of over 30 frameworks. These include a presence in every Network Rail region in England and Wales, including the industry leading Southern Renewals Enterprise for Electrification and Plant as well as frameworks with National Highways, the M25 Lifecycle and Call-off Framework Agreement (COFA) for Connect Plus and places on local and regional authority transport frameworks nationwide.
Current projects include the refurbishment of Ryde Pier on the Isle of Wight and Waterloo Station Roof, the construction of new railway stations at Okehampton and Charfield, the A46 Walsgrave Junction Upgrade, the construction of a new link road in Colchester and the completion of the newly opened A140 Long Stratton Bypass.
Octavius will continue to operate under the leadership of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) John Dowsett, who will remain fully supported by his executive team, which includes Matt Smith and Gavin Pritchard, managing directors for the rail and highways sectors respectively.
The addition of Octavius marks a pivotal step for RSK in the transport infrastructure sector, building on its existing capabilities in a market benefitting from ongoing investment. In its most recent Annual Report, RSK highlighted that infrastructure represented 14% of its total revenue in the year and was its fastest growing segment, with 36% growth compared to the prior year. The addition of Octavius transforms this position, propelling RSK into a highly strategic and scaled position with Tier 1 capabilities in rail and highways.
Octavius CEO John Dowsett said: “I am very excited about joining the RSK Group and embarking on the next stage of the Octavius journey. Having thrived under the ownership of Sullivan Street Partners, expanding our capabilities, reputation, revenue and profitability, RSK feels like the natural long-term home for us to continue our ambitious growth plans.
“We will retain our proud Octavius brand and maintain a strong level of autonomy, while enjoying a wealth of support from the considerable expertise within the RSK Group. We have a strong cultural fit with RSK, with complementary strengths, and share a vision for ambitious but sustainable growth, delivered with an unwavering commitment to the safety, health and wellbeing of our people and our environment. I am looking forward to working closely with the RSK leadership team and our partner businesses to deliver the Octavius vision of being the most respected transport infrastructure provider.”
RSK Founder and CEO Alan Ryder added: “I am very proud to see Octavius, a high quality and trusted partner in the UK rail and highway sectors, choose RSK as its long-term home. John and his team have built a remarkable business, and I look forward to working with them as they continue to lead Octavius through many more successes.”
Commenting on the strategic value of the acquisition, Alan continued: “Infrastructure is one of RSK’s core strategic growth markets and, in Octavius, we have found a large, well-established business with a proven track record in safety-critical infrastructure delivery. With many complementary businesses already in the group, we see significant opportunity for collaboration, further improving the value we can bring to our shared client base.”
Layton Tamberlin, Founding Partner of Sullivan Street, said: “Our journey with Octavius has been a fantastic one. From carving out the business, to executing the organic growth plan and adding additional capabilities through add-ons, the business has been transformed into a national player of considerable scale. It has been a pleasure working with this excellent management team throughout our ownership, and we have every confidence that Octavius will continue to thrive as part of RSK Group.”
Media Enquires: Malcolm Hallsworth, Marketing and Communications Executive (malcolm.hallsworth@octavius.co.uk)
About RSK
RSK Group is a global leader in the delivery of environmental and engineering solutions. We recognise the urgent need for sustainable change and know that this will be achieved by delivering meaningful action, not just words. We are committed to supporting our clients and societies as they navigate these complex challenges, while making a positive impact.
The business was founded in 1989, originally focused on providing environmental consultancy services to global energy clients. Today, while we remain a leader in environmental consultancy, the business is significantly more diverse. RSK delivers an unrivalled breadth and depth of environmental and engineering services, either as stand-alone projects or as large and integrated multidisciplinary solutions.
The group believes this emphasis on multidisciplinary collaboration is essential for successfully addressing complex global challenges. This is why we have brought together pragmatic advice, forward-thinking engineering, cutting-edge innovation, digital solutions and best-in-class delivery services.
RSK continues to deliver its ambitious growth strategy. It now comprises more than 200 companies and employs over 17,000 people.
About Octavius Infrastructure
Octavius Infrastructure is one of the UK’s leading providers of transportation and electrification solutions, creating safe and assured outcomes that enhance, renew and maintain critical road and rail networks. Primarily a tier-one management contractor, we provide a portfolio of programme and project management services across a diverse range of activities, collaborating with our customers and integrating with our trusted supply chain to deliver safer, greener projects that protect our planet and support the communities we work within.
Our core project delivery expertise is underpinned by a focus on efficiency, productivity and innovative engineering, and is complimented by a proven self-delivery capability through our Regional Civil Engineering business and the provision of electrification engineering and design expertise through our wholly owned subsidiary business, Navitas Engineering.
We pride ourselves on the extraordinary quality of our people, and our vision to be the UK’s most respected provider of transport infrastructure is driven by over 700 highly skilled employees who strive to delight our customers by delivering in The Octavius Way.