Keltbray announces strategic sale of Infrastructure Services Business

Monday 19th August 2024

JOINT STATEMENT FROM KELTBRAY & EMK CAPITAL

Esher, Surrey, 19/08/24 – Keltbray, a leading specialist engineering contractor in the construction sector, has completed the sale of its Infrastructure Services Limited (KISL) business to EMK Capital, a pre-eminent global private equity firm. This strategic transaction supports Keltbray’s focus on its core business areas while positioning KISL for continued growth under new ownership. EMK Capital brings the financial resources and strategic expertise to drive future transformational growth in KISL and enhance its market offerings.

The divestiture allows Keltbray a sharper focus on its well-established position as a leading specialist contractor in the built environment and major civil engineering markets.

The sale enables Keltbray to concentrate on delivering high-quality service and maintaining strong earnings quality. Brendan Kerr remains the sole shareholder of the business and will continue to be supported by its existing senior management team, led by its new CEO, Vince Corrigan.

Brendan Kerr, Owner of Keltbray, commented:

“This decision aligns with Keltbray’s long-term strategy to hone our focus on key business areas, allowing us to reinforce our commitment to excellence in the specialist engineering sector. Now is the right time for KISL to transition to a new owner and start a new chapter in its successful growth story.”

Darren James, CEO of KISL, said:

“On behalf of the entire KISL business, I’d like to place on record our sincere thanks for the support we have received from Brendan and the Keltbray Group over the last 15 years which has been instrumental. Together with the management team, I am very excited to partner with our new owner EMK Capital and deliver on KISL’s full potential.”

Keltbray will continue delivering its full spectrum of specialist engineering services, supported by its in-house Design and Plant divisions. As part of the agreement, KISL will in due course be renamed and branded to remove the ‘Keltbray’ reference, reflecting its new ownership and strategic direction.

ENDS

KELTBRAY EXTENDED STATEMENT

Keltbray has announced that it has reached an agreement with an independent owner for the sale of its Infrastructure division. The sale marks a significant milestone for the company, which was originally founded in 1976 and has since expanded its operations to become a leading specialist contractor in both infrastructure and built environment sectors.

Keltbray’s diversification into infrastructure services began in 2009 with the acquisition of Gamble Rail, followed by Aspire Rail in 2010, and the establishment of its energy networks business in 2013. Over the years, the Infrastructure and Built Environment divisions have evolved into successful and profitable enterprises.

The decision to sell the Infrastructure division enables the company to focus more sharply on the built environment sector and other targeted markets, in line with its established strategy for diversified growth.

Brendan Kerr remains the sole shareholder of the retained Keltbray business and will continue to be supported by its existing senior management team, led by its new CEO, Vince Corrigan.

This strategic move is expected to further enhance Keltbray’s reputation by allowing the company to prioritise quality of service and profitability of earnings.

Brendan Kerr, Chairman, stated, “This decision reflects our commitment to solidifying Keltbray’s position as a leader in the built environment sector while continuing to grow our presence in the broader civil engineering market. By focusing our resources and expertise, we are confident that Keltbray will continue to deliver exceptional value to our clients and partners.”

The sale has the full support of Keltbray’s Executive Leadership team and aligns with the company’s long-term goals. Keltbray will continue to offer a comprehensive range of specialist engineering services, supported by its in-house Design and Plant divisions.

This development allows Keltbray to:

• Re-focus on its core mission within the Built Environment and selected markets, emphasising the company’s industry-leading self-delivery approach.
• Invest in the growth and development of its people, positioning Keltbray as a premier employer in the specialist engineering services sector.
• Expand and capitalise on new business opportunities, delivering high-quality, personalised services to customers with increased flexibility and agility.

Keltbray expresses its gratitude to its team for their hard work and dedication during this transition and extends best wishes to the new owners of the Infrastructure division as they embark on this new chapter.

The company also thanks its customers, partners, and stakeholders for their continued support, and reaffirms its commitment to engineering a better world through innovative design and sustainable development practices.

ENDS

For media enquiries, please contact:

Keltbray

Kelly March
Head of Communications

Kelly.march@keltbray.com

Note for Editors:

About Keltbray

Keltbray is a leading UK specialist construction engineering services business, offering a uniquely integrated delivery capability spanning key phases of the client value chain – design management, civil engineering, geotechnical, construction waste management, demolition and decommissioning, piling and reinforced concrete structures and remediation.

The company was founded in 1976 and is privately owned, employs over 1,500 people, and is a key delivery partner to prestigious public and private sector customers, contributing to the development and maint6nance of Britain’s rapidly changing economic and social infrastructure.

Keltbray provides certainty of delivery to meet the exacting needs of diverse and complex projects in complex, safety-critical markets. Its professionally accredited teams take pride in delivering safely and sustainably to specification, on time, to budget, and with care for the environment and our communities.

For more information, visit www.keltbray.com.

KELTBRAY INFRASTRUCTURE SERVICES LIMITED (KISL) STATEMENT

Keltbray’s Infrastructure Services Limited (“KISL” or the “Company”), a multi-disciplinary energy and transport networks specialist and engineering services provider, today announces that it has been acquired by EMK Capital, for an undisclosed sum.

The Keltbray Group (“Keltbray”) diversified into infrastructure services in 2009 with the acquisition of Gamble Rail, closely followed by that of Aspire Rail in 2010, before establishing KISL, Keltbray’s energy networks business, in 2018. KISL made further add-on acquisitions into the high voltage and renewable energy markets in 2021 and 2022 respectively.

Today, KISL is a leading provider of safety-critical, highly regulated energy networks and transport services across the UK. KISL is also a key enabler of the UK’s green energy transition, with core services spanning the design, engineering, installation, maintenance, and crisis response of essential infrastructures across power, renewables, nuclear decommissioning, railways, highways and local governments.

KISL has deployed a multi-sector approach to drive impressive organic growth. The Company has built strong partnerships with a diverse base of blue-chip infrastructure network operators, leading to the twelve-fold growth of its orderbook over the last five years, which now stands at +£1.1billion. The Company also has over 1,100 dedicated, professionally accredited technical staff.

Positive long-term secular trends, including the growing need for investment in UK’s critical infrastructure assets and the broader transition towards a low-carbon, digital-enabled, and energy-secure future, will also fuel KISL’s growth.

EMK Capital will provide the financial backing and further strategic guidance to support KISL and its management team as they accelerate the Company’s ambitious growth plans. Drawing on its expertise in infrastructure and engineering services, EMK will support the Company to further strengthen its position and unlock additional growth both organically and through further acquisitions.

Darren James, Chief Executive Officer of KISL, said: “KISL is well-placed to realise our potential in the energy transition and decarbonised transport market with our strong market position and sustainable business approach.

EMK Capital’s deep understanding of the infrastructure and engineering services sector, coupled with its expertise in delivering transformational growth, will enable us to take meaningful steps towards geographic and service offering expansion, while maintaining our high-quality customer relationships and safety-driven employee culture.”

ENDS

Media contact:

Philip Pashley

Group Communications Director

Email: Philip.pashley@keltbrayinfrastructureservices.com

For EMK:

Christina Tang

Consultant, Greenbrook

Email: emk@greenbrookadvisory.com

Notes to Editors

About Keltbray Infrastructure Services Limited (KISL):

KISL is a leading specialist infrastructure services provider, applying its proactive relationship management approach with customer teams, supply chain partners and regulatory bodies. This promotes early dialogue and proactive design evaluation, facilitating effective communication and identifying key project risks with defined delivery requirements.

Our direct-delivery philosophy in design, project management, engineering, construction and maintenance services, and plant supply allows us to control all aspects of a project, minimising delivery risk and providing greater certainty for our clients.

Our detailed understanding of working in complex, highly regulated infrastructure environments, and the effectiveness of our innovative engineering solutions enables the most complex and technically challenging projects to be delivered to the required specification standards. Our clients benefit from our expert knowledge, best practices, and forward thinking, partnership approach to design and programme opportunities, driving excellence and efficiency in delivery.

Our unique strength is our people, their willingness to identify and overcome problems on a daily basis and their collaborative attitude to deliver projects to the highest possible standard.

About EMK Capital:

EMK Capital is a global private equity firm with an exceptional track record of investing in European and international mid-market businesses. EMK is a growth-focused investor, which, through active partnerships with exceptional management teams, looks to achieve transformational growth and build world class businesses, which are leaders in their markets. Across 25 exited investments over the last 20 years, EMK’s team has on average multiplied EBITDA five-fold during its period of ownership.

Notably the EMK team supported what was then known as Morrison Utility Services (now M Group) through its spin out from Anglian Water and subsequent transformation into a leading UK Utility and infrastructure services business.