• Brachers and Kreston Reeves are pleased to announce that they have advised on the management buyout of Dover-based Burgess Marine Limited, the UK’s leading independent ship repair business. The transaction was backed by RJD Partners, the specialist UK middle market private equity investor.

    RJD has committed up to £11 million to fund the MBO and provide capital for future national growth. Nicholas Warren has run Burgess Marine since his father, David, retired in 2008. Burgess Marine is headquartered in Dover and provides ship maintenance, repair, new-build construction and refit services. It works extensively across the UK’s south coast and on international projects for clients include BAE Systems, Babcock International, Carnival and Rolls Royce.

    Over the last two years the company has expanded rapidly, acquiring two other marine engineering businesses, Testbank Ship Repair and Meercat Workboats. The group now employs over 130 staff and delivered an annual turnover in excess of £25 million in the last financial year.

    Nicholas Warren, Managing Director of Burgess Marine, said:

    “Burgess has an excellent foundation of strong customer relationships and a reputation and proven track record for innovation and quality. We will build on this over the coming years as the company grows to become the leading independent operator in the UK marine services sector. We are very pleased to be in partnership with RJD and look forward to working closely with their team in continuing the success of Burgess. Our advisers, Kreston Reeves and Brachers, did a fantastic job of pulling together to meet an ambitious timetable and I can’t thank them enough.”

    John Cowie, Head of Corporate Finance at Kreston Reeves, said: “We are delighted for Nick and the team at Burgess. This is a transformational moment for one of the South Coast’s real success stories. With the backing of RJD, Burgess has a very exciting future indeed. It has been a pleasure working with both of them to make this happen.”

    James Bullock, Head of Corporate at Brachers, says:

    “Burgess Marine has been operating in Kent for almost half a century, and we have really enjoyed working closely with Nick and his ambitious management team to help deliver two acquisitions and this highly significant MBO. It’s hugely rewarding to be part of the Burgess Marine journey as Nick’s strategic plans take shape and they reach the next stage of their corporate development. We’re looking forward to an exciting future for the company and to playing an ongoing part in making that happen.”

    Alex Hay, Partner, RJD Partners, comments: “We very much look forward to working with Nick and his team to develop Burgess into the national leader in its field. RJD has a successful track record of being the first institutional investor within family businesses and we look forward to leveraging our experience in this area to support the company’s exciting growth prospects”.

    This content is correct at time of publication

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