Burgess Marine expansion

Small & Co Marine Engineering operates at a 76.5m x 14.5m dry dock and a 70m layby berth strategically located on the East Anglican coast.

Nicholas Warren, managing director of Burgess Marine, said: “We’ve been working on this transaction for many, many months and it is great to finally get across the line.”

“We’re prepared to make a long-term investment in this business and in this port. We’re looking for a long-term lease from ABP and we’re looking forward to securing the longevity of the yard, the business and the team that is employed here,” he added.

The company employs about 50 full-time staff and is a major marine engineering force in the ship repair industry, not only in the North Sea and East Anglia but also further afield across the Thames Estuary and the East Coast.

“We’re going to integrate the Smalls team into the Burgess team and we are taking the best bits of both businesses. Moreover, this is a major strategic step in creating the UK’s first national ship repair network,” said Mr Warren.

Paul Kirby, the joint managing director of Small & Co, said: “By merging with Burgess Marine we’re not only protecting the business that we’ve work tirelessly to create we’ve gone a long way in securing the jobs and the future prosperity of the team that we’ve built up.”

Alongside this, the ship repair company will rename the two slipways at the top of the Southampton water which they have acquired. Previously named Marchwood Slipways, the site will now be called Burgess Marine Marchwood.

“The site is excellent and we already have good, long-standing relationships with all of the yard’s key customers, which include Red Funnel, Williams Shipping and the Sandbanks Ferry,” said Karl Kerry, who will manage the site.

“We will be both investing and improving health and safety standards in Marchwood and changing the way the site works.”

The company will be providing its shipyard services from Portsmouth Harbour to include project management, structural engineering, mechanical engineering, marine grade electrical engineering and hydraulic repairs.

The footprint provides two rolling slips, one of 500T and one of 1000T, which can support vessels up to 70m LOA. Whilst the site itself offers opportunities for short, medium and long-term storage, ultra-high pressure water blasting washing and open shot blasting.

Mr Kerry said: “What is key for us is that we maximise the utilisation of the footprint and work in proper partnerships to ensure the best, and most sensible, utilisation of both our footprints in Portchester and now Southampton.”

By Alice Mason