Tekmar Group PLC – Acquisition of Ryder Geotechnical Limited
Tekmar Group plc, a market-leading technology provider of subsea protection systems is pleased to announce that its wholly owned subsidiary, AgileTek Engineering Limited, has completed the acquisition of 80 per cent. of the total share capital of Ryder Geotechnical Limited from sellers Nigel Jeremy Martin and Fraser Gibson for a nominal consideration of £2, together with the grant of an option to acquire the remaining 20 per cent.
Background
Ryder Geotechnical, founded by Fraser Gibson in 2016, provides expert geotechnical design and consulting services to the offshore wind and subsea oil and gas sectors.
Offshore geotechnical engineering is a specialist branch of civil engineering, focused on the assessment of seabed properties and the design of subsea infrastructure to ensure the stability of offshore assets. Ryder Geotechnical’s activities include structure foundation design, geohazard assessment and subsea cable routing and burial assessment. These services, provided to project developers in both the offshore wind and subsea oil and gas sectors, are critical at the preliminary design stages of a project and are employed throughout the lifecycle of those assets to ensure they are safe and functional.
Adding geotechnical engineering capability to the Group’s portfolio will provide earlier access to offshore projects, greatly increasing visibility on opportunities in these markets and creating the opportunity for the Group to increase revenue per project across its lifecycle. Ryder Geotechnical is expected to benefit from Tekmar Group’s trusted name in the global energy market, which will open up new sales opportunities for the business.
Whilst operating as a stand-alone business, Ryder Geotechnical will work with AgileTek Engineering to provide combined scopes of work, which deliver increased value to clients. The two companies have recently worked together successfully on several high-profile subsea cable projects for clients including Ørsted and Global Maritime.
Integration
The Ryder Geotechnical team comprises four experienced staff, all of whom will remain with the business. Founder, Fraser Gibson will continue to lead Ryder Geotechnical as Managing Director.
Ryder Geotechnical will continue to trade under its own name, from its leased headquarters in Newcastle upon Tyne, and remain as a separate legal entity. There will be no disruption or change for its customers. The business will sit as part of AgileTek Engineering.
James Ritchie, Tekmar Group CEO, Sue Hurst, Tekmar Group CFO, and Steven Rossiter, AgileTek Engineering Managing Director, will be appointed as additional directors of Ryder Geotechnical.
Further details of the Transaction
Under the acquisition agreement, AgileTek Engineering has acquired 80 per cent. of Ryder Geotechnical for an nominal consideration of £2 with the remaining 20 per cent. retained by Nigel Jeremy Martin and Fraser Gibson.
AgileTek Engineering shall be granted an option to acquire the remaining 20 per cent. for a maximum consideration of £2 million. The option is exercisable by AgileTek Engineering up to 27 March 2022 and the consideration payable on exercise is subject to performance criteria.
Financials
In the published accounts for the year to 30 November 2017, Ryder Geotechnical had turnover of £102,315, profit of £48,385 and had net assets of £14,000.
James Ritchie, Chief Executive Officer, Tekmar Group plc, said: “We are delighted to welcome Fraser, Nigel and the team to Tekmar Group. Ryder Geotechnical provides an extremely important service to offshore sector. The combination of our businesses will open new doors and enable us to expand our revenue streams further across a project’s long lifecycle.
“Tekmar Group is focused on adding value in the protection of our clients’ subsea assets and it is of strategic value for us to know as much as possible about seabed conditions on projects being executed by the Group. The acquisition furthers our strategy to acquire offshore energy businesses which have a clear technology focus, have complementary customer bases and can leverage Group support to accelerate growth.”
London based AgileTek Engineering Limited is one of Tekmar Group plc’s four primary operating companies, in addition to Tekmar Energy Limited, Subsea Innovation Limited and now Ryder Geotechnical Limited.