Tekmar Group makes third acquisition with Pipeshield International ltd

10/10/19

Tekmar Group plc, a market-leading technology provider of subsea protection systems is pleased to announce that it has signed a sale and purchase agreement for the acquisition of Pipeshield® International ltd (“Pipeshield® “) from its founder Steven Howlett.

This is the third acquisition of the group since its admission to AIM in June 2018 and is continuing the strategy to acquire offshore energy businesses with synergies that have a clear subsea technology focus, have a complementary customer base and can leverage group support while growing under the similar market demands.

The acquisition further strengthens Tekmar Group’s technology offering enabling them to offer more subsea protection in addition to current suite of products including; concrete mattresses, scour protection, pipeline crossings. Further this extends within the group the track record within offshore wind and a longer standing heritage from oil and gas.

Background
Pipeshield is a world leading technology provider of subsea concrete mattresses. These mattresses are used in the protection of subsea equipment such as pipelines and power cables within all marine environments, including offshore wind, marine renewables, oil and gas and marine civil engineering.

Concrete mattresses and associated products are used for the stabilisation and impact protection of subsea equipment in areas where they cannot be buried. They are also used to limit the development of localised scour (seabed erosion) on foundations, pipelines or in marine ports. The technology is highly complementary to Tekmar’s and has frequently been used in conjunction on past projects.

The business, which is headquartered in Lowestoft, has manufacturing operations local to its primary markets, including Aberdeen, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Singapore. The majority of Pipeshield’s production activity is undertaken at its new leased facility at Blyth in Northumberland, a major hub for offshore renewables activity in the UK.

Pipeshield currently employs 25 full time staff, most of whom are technically focused, plus circa 15 contractors supporting the manufacturing process at any one time. The business has four patents, protecting its core technology, and is fully accredited and independently certified including:

•    Full ISO 14001, 19001 and 18001 for Health, Safety, Quality and Environmental (HSQE);
•    Dual Queens awards for International Trade and Enterprise Innovation; and
•    Investor in People Gold standard.

The business has a strong history in the provision of equipment to the major operators within the marine sector including, most recently, Technip, Van Oord, DeepOcean, NPCC, Saipem and Allseas.

Pipeshield provided its patented mattress protection technology to the first commercial wind farms, including E.on’s Scroby Sands in 2004. Most recently the business was awarded the prestigious East Anglia scope for Scottish Power’s project, which is currently under construction. Further, Pipeshield has a significant track record in the oil and gas and marine civil engineering markets, in which it has most recently supplied multiple contracts in the Middle East, including a multi-million-pound scope for the Dubai Marina Masterplan project in the UAE.

James Ritchie, Chief Executive Officer of Tekmar, said:

“Pipeshield is a perfect fit for Tekmar. Its products are complementary, allowing us to upsell and expand our offering to clients, realising our Group vision. The business has many similarities with Tekmar from both end customers to markets but also most importantly it fits culturally. The business focuses on technology, as its key differentiator, and Pipeshield has outstanding credentials, which demonstrate its commitment to safety, quality and, above all, its people; these are key values which we embrace across all Group companies. I am truly excited by the prospect of adding the Pipeshield offering to Tekmar’s portfolio and I welcome Steve and his team to the family.”

Steven Howlett, Founder and Managing Director of Pipeshield, said:

“Tekmar and Pipeshield have many similarities. We are industry-leading technology providers within subsea protection and share a similar history and culture. I am keen to see the business progress and believe that being part of Tekmar will accelerate the achievement of our long-held growth aspirations.  I want to thank the Pipeshield team for all its hard work, getting us to this point, and highlight, to my staff and customers, that this change in ownership will only increase the opportunities for the business and our passion for delivering outstanding technical solutions. Other than that, it’s very much business as usual.”

About Tekmarhttp://investors.tekmar.co.uk/

Tekmar’s vision is to be the partner of choice for the supply and installation support of subsea protection equipment to the global offshore energy markets. The Group has five primary operating companies; these are Tekmar Energy Limited, Subsea Innovation Limited, AgileTek Engineering Limited, Ryder Geotechnical Limited and Pipeshield International limited.

Tekmar Energy is a global market leader in protection systems for subsea cable, umbilical and flexible pipe. Tekmar has been trusted to protect billions of Euros worth of assets in the offshore wind, oil and gas, wave, tidal and interconnector markets since 1985: https://www.tekmar.co.uk/

Subsea Innovation is a global leader in the design, manufacture and supply of complex engineered equipment and technology used in the offshore energy market. Its products include large equipment handling systems which operate on the back of pipelay installation vessels; emergency pipeline repair clamps (EPRC) which protect major oil and gas pipelines, and bespoke equipment for use in the construction of offshore energy projects: https://www.subsea.co.uk/

AgileTek Engineering is an award-winning subsea engineering consultancy for offshore energy projects. AgileTek helps its clients de-risk projects through advanced computer simulation and analysis. https://agiletek.co.uk/.  AgileDat, a division of AgileTek, provides software development, cloud architecture and data analytics services. https://agiledat.co.uk/

Ryder Geotechnical provides expert geotechnical design and consulting services to the offshore wind and subsea oil and gas sectors. Services include offshore structure foundation design, geohazard assessment and subsea cable routing and burial assessment.  https://www.rydergeotechnical.com/

Pipeshield is a market leading provider of specialised subsea protection solutions in the form of concrete mattresses used for the stabilisation and impact protection of subsea equipment in areas where they cannot be buried and further to limit the development of scour (seabed erosion) particularly local to that of a foundation, pipeline or in marine ports. http://www.pipeshield.com/.

Tekmar Energy and Tekmar are headquartered in Newton Aycliffe in the United Kingdom; AgileTek operates from an office in London; Subsea Innovation has its head office and manufacturing centre in Darlington, United Kingdom. Ryder operates in Newcastle and within Agiletek London, Pipeshield’s headquarters are in Lowestoft with manufacturing in Blyth, Northumberland, Tekmar also has representation in South Korea, USA, China and across the Middle East.

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