Mon, 12 May 2025 | ADMINISTRATION
A Bristol-headquartered subsea and offshore wind tech company which also had offices in Edinburgh and Aberdeenshire has fallen into administration. Beam was formed in September 2024 through the merger of offshore inspection systems business Rovco, which traded as Beam, and sister company Vaarst.
The company, which claimed to be a "leading deep technology company", utilised tools including underwater robots and AI to service offshore wind farms. Rovco and Vaarst developed and deployed AI and autonomy-enabled services for maintenance, repair and inspection work.
The company had operations across the UK and Irish seas, as well as in Europe, Japan and the US. It worked with a number of the world’s leading offshore wind operators.
When the two firms merged as Beam last year, the company announced plans to create 200 new jobs, including 50 roles in international locations such as the USA and Asia. At the time, the company said it aimed to grow by developing industry-leading innovations to increase efficiencies and cuts costs for survey and subsea work.
However, just eight months after the merger, the firm has now fallen into administration following an unsuccessful equity raise. David Shambrook and Damian Webb of RSM UK Restructuring Advisory have been appointed as joint administrators.
The administration, which also came in the wake of a failed effort to conduct an accelerated sale of the business and its assets in April 2025, sees around 162 of the company’s 195 staff made redundant.
The joint administrators are now exploring a range of options to maximise returns for creditors and, where possible, preserve jobs at the company.
In accounts for the year to December 31 2023, Rovco Limited, trading as Beam, reported turnover of around £19.6 million, up from £13.6 million a year earlier. However, the company fell to a loss of £8.1 million, having incurred losses of £8.7 million a year earlier.
At the time, the company’s fixed assets were valued at £6.5 million and current assets at around £5.7 million, with net assets amounting to £3.1 million.
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