Tue, 02 Jun 2026 | BUSINESS SALE
Ancora Group, a collection of marine contractors providing infrastructure and coastal defences across the UK, has expanded with the acquisition of a specialist marine engineering business.
The purchase of Red7Marine is the latest for Ancora Group since it was acquired by investor Sullivan Street Partners in March 2025 and is described as broadening the group’s reach on the South Coast of England.
Headquartered in Ipswich and with an additional office in Southampton, Red7Marine provides specialist marine engineering services across marine civils, offshore renewables, flood defences, cables and nuclear infrastructure.
The firm has an in-house engineering and fabrication team, as well as a fleet of jack-up barges and marine plant, and is able to provide tailored support throughout the lifecycle of a project.
Layton Tamberlin, Managing Partner at Sullivan Street Partners, said: "We are pleased to support this important add-on for Ancora Group. Since we acquired the group in March last year, our long-term goal has been to build a national group of marine contractors with specialist capabilities.”
"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."
Ancora Group was established with the aim of bringing marine civils, erosion protection and specialist marine plant capability together within a single structure. The group specialises in delivering complex multi-disciplinary marine infrastructure projects across ports, waterways and tidal coastal environments.
Simon Light, chief executive of Ancora Group, said that clients and communities are “continuing to face a complex combination of ageing assets, mounting climate, regulatory, geo-political and economic pressures.”
Light continued: "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.”
"Red7Marine and Ancora together have over 100 years of highly specialist marine plant and civil engineering experience, delivering project outcomes across the UK's coastal, inland and offshore environments.
"We are excited about the opportunities our joint capabilities will bring to our clients, employees and partners, and I am looking forward to taking the group to ever greater heights."
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