RSK acquires Octavius Infrastructure
Seeking to bolster its infrastructure business – which grew 36% during the year ending 6 April 2025 – Cheshire-headquartered RSK has purchased the £322m turnover civil engineer from Sullivan Street Partners.
DC Advisory and Taylor Wessing acted for Sullivan Street Partners on the deal, while KPMG and Fladgate represented RSK. The cost of the acquisition has not been disclosed.
Sullivan Street Partners, an investment firm, had grown Octavius Infrastructure from a £200m turnover company to its present-day status over the course of four years. Octavius, which sits on 30 frameworks and has established relationships with Network Rail, National Highways, and Transport for London, has more than 700 employees. In addition to civil engineering, it provides electrification transport infrastructure services.
Octavius will retain its current leadership team as part of the deal, meaning John Dowsett will continue as chief executive, as will Matt Smith and Gavin Pritchard as managing directors for rail and highways, respectively.
“We will retain our proud Octavius brand and maintain a strong level of autonomy, while enjoying a wealth of support from the considerable expertise within the RSK Group,” said Dowsett.
“We have a strong cultural fit with RSK, with complementary strengths, and share a vision for ambitious but sustainable growth, delivered with an unwavering commitment to the safety, health and wellbeing of our people and our environment,” he continued.
“I am looking forward to working closely with the RSK leadership team and our partner businesses to deliver the Octavius vision of being the most respected transport infrastructure provider.”
Infrastructure was the fastest-growing segment of RSK’s work portfolio in its latest annual report. The sector, however, only represented 14% of the company’s total revenue, bringing in £319m. Water remained RSK’s dominant revenue generator, bringing in £972m.
RSK founder and chief executive Alan Ryder said: “Infrastructure is one of RSK’s core strategic growth markets and, in Octavius, we have found a large, well-established business with a proven track record in safety-critical infrastructure delivery. With many complementary businesses already in the group, we see significant opportunity for collaboration, further improving the value we can bring to our shared client base.”
Octavius is the latest acquisition for the £2.2bn turnover RSK, which purchased 11 businesses last year. RSK has more than 17,000 employees, owns more than 200 companies, and operates out of 40 countries. The UK is still its largest market, bringing in £1.8bn in revenue.
