Our Companies
Investing in high quality businesses with existing strong cash flow generation that are well positioned to benefit from changes driven by energy transition, Buckthorn is a hands-on active manager of its portfolio companies.
We are a change agent, creating value through operational improvement and strategic development.
Offshore Energy Services
Amey is a leading infrastructure services and engineering company.
Social housing infrastructure group
The world’s drilling waste specialist
Global leader in well integrity and production optimisation
Solutions for the offshore energy industry
Drilling optimisation and production efficiency
Acteon is an offshore energy infrastructure services provider with deep technical expertise in a broad range of engineering services. The company supports projects for the offshore renewable energy, nearshore construction and oil and gas industries through the construction, maintenance and decommissioning phases of the infrastructure life-cycle.
By the numbers:
Our Journey:
Buckthorn invested into Acteon alongside One Equity Partners and The Arab Energy Fund. We will focus on developing Acteon’s capabilities across survey, foundations, moorings, offshore infrastructure decommissioning, and consulting engineering services that support and differentiate the business in the global offshore markets, with a particular focus on the growing offshore wind segment.
| September 2024 | Completed sale of Aquatic to Motive Offshore |
| October 2024 | Agreed sale of Seatronics and J2 Subsea to Ashtead Technologies |
Amey is at the heart of modern Britain, helping the economy to grow by designing, maintaining and transforming the nation’s strategic assets.
Amey’s unique engineering and operations experience, together with data-driven insight from its consulting business, delivers better results for clients.
Amey is a trusted partner of Government – both national and local – managing assets and complex projects that are vital to the sustainable growth of the country.
By the numbers:
About Amey
Our 11,000 people are behind the critical services the country relies on every day.
We are proud of the role we play in the delivery of public services across the UK, including rail and road maintenance and secure facilities management.
We are also proud of our role as a major employer and partner in areas of the UK that are central to the government’s levelling up agenda, including the Midlands, North of England, Wales and Scotland.
Our presence in these regions is helping to connect communities and supporting their recovery from the pandemic; it also makes us well placed to support their ongoing regeneration.
Our 11,000 people are behind the critical services the country relies on every day.
We are proud of the role we play in the delivery of public services across the UK, including rail and road maintenance and secure facilities management.
We are also proud of our role as a major employer and partner in areas of the UK that are central to the government’s levelling up agenda, including the Midlands, North of England, Wales and Scotland.
Our presence in these regions is helping to connect communities and supporting their recovery from the pandemic; it also makes us well-placed to support their ongoing regeneration.
Our Journey:
Buckthorn Partners and One Equity Partners acquired Amey in December 2022.
Buckthorn and OEP will invest in Amey to strengthen and grow the business and to access new opportunities, particularly in energy transition, where Amey is well-placed to support the UK’s Net Zero ambitions.
Cardo Group supports social housing providers with their maintenance, compliance, retrofit and decarbonisation needs. Cardo Group’s strategy is to further develop the Group’s capability in relevant market segments across a national footprint. The Group is making a number of acquisitions alongside organic growth opportunities to execute this strategy.
The need to make social housing safer, more pleasant to live in and more energy efficient is leading many landlords to explore different partnership models with repairs and maintenance providers. Cardo Group partners with local authorities and Registered Providers to deliver fresh thinking, innovation and flexibility in the field of social housing repairs and maintenance. This allows Cardo’s customers to systematically improve the quality, energy efficiency and performance of their housing stock at a lower cost.
“Buckthorn’s investment into Cardo Group has provided us with a foundation to realise our growth aspirations and enable the company to expand service lines from our core social housing market to supporting the UK’s decarbonisation targets for public sector buildings. Buckthorn’s experience and knowledge of the M&A market, together with their collaborative approach to working with the Group’s management team, has created opportunities for us to make several key acquisitions and offer clients another large partner in the market. We could not have achieved this without their investment.”
Liam Bevan Chief Executive Officer
Our Journey:
Buckthorn invested into Cardo Group alongside CEO, Liam Bevan, in 2023.
Since Buckthorn invested in Cardo Group, the following acquisitions have been completed:
| May 2023 | LCB Group |
| September 2023 | Osbourne Property Services |
| September 2023 | Jefferies Contractors |
| April 2024 | A&N Lewis |
Since May 2023 Cardo has made four acquisitions which has allowed the Group to rapidly expand its geographic coverage and service offering.
The Group is headquartered in Cardiff, Wales, and provides property maintenance and decarbonisation services to social housing and corporate buildings across Wales, Southern England and the Midlands.
Cardo’s latest acquisition, A&N Lewis, takes the Group’s directly employed staff to over 800, working across England and Wales.
The World’s Drilling Waste Specialist
TWMA develops solutions for the safe and efficient processing of drilling waste generated from drilling operations. TWMA ensures clients meet and exceed the demands of local legislation whilst generating significant commercial, environmental and safety benefits. The company recycles materials used in the drilling process and facilitates the reduction of CO2 emissions from the drilling waste disposal process, delivering value to the client whilst reducing their environmental footprint.
By the numbers:
Turning drilling waste into savings. As the world leader in drilling waste management, TWMA harnesses the power of today and pioneers the technology of tomorrow. Whether onshore or offshore, we turn waste into value and lost time into profit.
Our journey:
Buckthorn acquired TWMA in May 2017.
The company has offices and service bases in Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, West Africa and the USA.
Since Buckthorn acquired TWMA, the following acquisition has been completed:
| June 2018 | Dynamic Oilfield Services |
Exited
Buckthorn invested in Coretrax to support its ambitious global growth strategy as it expands operations across Europe, Middle East, the US and South-East Asia. The global well integrity and production optimisation leader provides efficient and sustainable well lifecycle solutions. With extensive differentiated products, the business also has a growing interest in the construction of geothermal wells and carbon capture and storage (CCS).
“Buckthorn’s support has enabled us to execute a value-adding acquisition strategy as we continue to expand our integrated well lifecycle offering and global footprint. The team provides sound counsel on the markets in which we operate and firmly understands our business ambitions.”
John Fraser Chief Executive Officer
Our journey:
Buckthorn acquired Coretrax in 2018.
Since Buckthorn acquired Coretrax, the following acquisitions have been completed:
| 2019 | Churchill |
| 2019 | Mohawk |
| 2024 | On 13 February 2024 Buckthorn agreed to sell Coretrax to Expro Group. You can read the Expro press release here. |
Buckthorn Exited Coretrax in May 2024
Exited
Ashtead Technology is a leading provider of technologically-advanced subsea solutions, tools and systems to the construction and maintenance of offshore energy infrastructure.
With offices in the UK, US, Middle East and Singapore, Ashtead incorporates market-leading technologies and innovative life of field services to help its clients deliver complex projects and enhance asset integrity by combining technical ingenuity with engineering and field service expertise. Ashtead services the broad offshore energy market comprising offshore wind, carbon capture and storage, and subsea oil and gas maintenance and decommissioning activities.
“Partnering with Buckthorn has allowed Ashtead Technology to expand geographically, broaden our product and service capability and accelerate our transition to support the rapidly increasing offshore renewables market. From the start their engagement with the management team has always been focused on doing the right thing to support the development and growth of our business through their depth of experience, contacts and energy sector insight”.
Allan Pirie Chief Executive Officer
Our journey:
Buckthorn and the Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (APICORP) acquired Ashtead Technology Limited (Ashtead) in April 2016.
Since Buckthorn acquired Ashtead, the following acquisitions have been completed:
| 2019 | Underwater Cutting Solutions |
| 2019 | Forum Subsea Rentals |
| 2019 | Aquatech Solutions |
| 2018 | Welaptega |
| 2017 | Forum Subsea Rentals |
| 2016 | Tes Survey Equipment Services |
| 2021 | IPO – AIM, LSE |
Post-IPO Ashtead continued its M&A strategy with the acquisitions of WeSubsea and Hiretech in 2022.
Buckthorn completed the exit of its investment in Ashtead Technology on the 10th May 2023.
Exited
Drilling Optimisation and Production Efficiency
Buckthorn invested in Paradigm Drilling Services in February 2015, alongside Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures and the owners of Paradigm Group. The business designs, manufactures, sells, and rents new generation drilling and intervention products used both in the conventional and unconventional oil and gas sector. The company offers a wide range of products and services with particular emphasis on technology to enhance the industry’s capability in extended reach drilling, which is key to minimising the environmental footprint of drilling operations.
Buckthorn’s investment in Paradigm was funded by a senior secured convertible instrument. Throughout our ownership, Buckthorn worked closely with Paradigm Group’s owners and Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures to support geographic expansion of the business and to broaden the product range through new product design and development.
Buckthorn completed the exit of its investment in August 2023. The business continues to develop and grow as a wholly owned subsidiary of Paradigm Group.
Our journey:
Buckthorn’s investment in Paradigm was funded by a senior secured convertible instrument. Buckthorn’s involvement in the business has supported the geographic expansion of the business into the Middle East and Mexico, in addition to broadening the product range through new product design and development.
Buckthorn completed the exit of its investment in August 2023.