Ancora Group has made its first purchase since being formed last year, adding marine engineering specialist Red7Marine in a move that expands the group’s offshore capability.
Backed by private equity firm Sullivan Street Partners (SSP), Ancora Group was created in 2025 with the integration of Teignmouth Maritime Services (TMS), Hesselberg Erosion Protection and Marine Plant Hire, bringing together marine civils, erosion protection and specialist marine plant under a single umbrella.
The acquisition of Ipswich-head-quartered Red7Marine broadens the group’s reach into offshore renewables, cable installation support, flood defence and nuclear infrastructure, while adding one of the UK’s more established fleets of jack-up barges and specialist marine plant.
Founded in 1999, Red7Marine has built a strong reputation delivering marine infrastructure and engineering works in tidal, coastal and offshore environments. Originally established as an equipment provider, the business has evolved into a specialist contractor offering engineering, fabrication and project delivery capabilities across marine civils, offshore wind and coastal defence.
The deal also materially strengthens Ancora’s self-delivery model, a strategy increasingly favoured in marine infrastructure where access to specialist vessels and equipment can determine project schedules and margins.
“This acquisition is a clear step towards that goal, and we are delighted to bring a business with such a strong reputation into the Ancora Group,” said Layton Tamberlin, managing partner at Sullivan Street Partners.
Ancora said the transaction would strengthen its ability to support complex, multi-disciplinary projects across UK ports, inland waterways and coastal environments, while broadening the group’s geographic footprint, particularly along the south coast.
For Ancora chief executive Simon Light, the deal reflects growing demand for integrated marine infrastructure services as operators contend with ageing assets and increasing environmental pressures.
Simon Light, Ancora Group CEO
“Clients and communities continue to face a complex combination of ageing assets, mounting climate, regulatory, geo-political and economic pressures,” he said.
“These challenges call for broader integrated solutions centred on deep levels of asset knowledge, specialist technical capability and the ability to work alongside clients and partners to deliver desired outcomes.”
Light added that the combined businesses now bring together more than a century of marine engineering and plant expertise spanning coastal, inland and offshore sectors.
Growing interest
The deal also highlights growing investor interest in specialist marine infrastructure, a fragmented market benefiting from long-term demand drivers including coastal resilience, flood defence, port upgrades and offshore wind development.
While Ancora remains small in comparison with Europe’s major marine contractors such as Dutch and Belgian offshore and dredging groups operating at multinational scale, the addition of Red7Marine strengthens its position as one of the UK’s more substantial independent marine civils specialists. The enlarged group now combines contracting, specialist marine plant, erosion protection, fabrication and offshore engineering capability under one structure, potentially allowing it to compete for larger and more technically demanding projects than its predecessor businesses could pursue independently.
For Sullivan Street, which specialises in mid-market buyouts, the acquisition represents another step in a broader consolidation strategy aimed at building a nationwide marine infrastructure platform with in-house technical expertise and self-delivery capability.
Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
