OCU Group Limited (“OCU”) is strengthening its offering across the north after announcing its acquisition of a majority shareholding in a Leeds-based fibre-optic specialist. The investment in InICT Limited (“InICT”) will be undertaken by O’Connor Utilities Limited, which is OCU’s northern operating unit.
InICT specialises in installing fibre optic cable for infrastructure clients across the north of England. It employs over 110 staff and generated annual revenues of £10m per its latest accounts.
The investment marks the latest move in OCU’s ambitious growth plans and will further drive its telecoms presence across the region, directly supporting clients including CityFibre, Virgin Media and KCOM. These companies are currently supporting the UK Government’s £5 billion Project Gigabit by providing next generation connectivity for homes and businesses across the UK.
The Government is committed to ensuring 85% of UK homes have access to ultrafast broadband by 2025, up from the current 70%[1]. In her first speech as prime minister earlier this month, Liz Truss also highlighted that improving broadband infrastructure was a key priority for her government.
Adrian O’Sullivan, Managing Director of O’Connor Utilities, said:
“The investment in InICT is part of our strategy to add to our own expertise across the north of England for both the telecoms and multi-utility sectors. By embracing new talent through these partnerships, we are able to increase our roll-out capabilities and support the future economy on both a local and national level. We already work with some exciting companies in the region and adding InICT will significantly strengthen our offering. Evolving and adding new talent to our portfolio reinforces our commitment to the region and ensures we are always providing the best possible services to our clients.”
Andrew Burn, Director of InICT, said:
“We have worked closely with OCU over the last couple of years and built a strong relationship. We share an ethos of getting things right first time by providing clients with a first-class service. We are delighted to become part of the group and see OCU as the ideal partner to help our clients accelerate the deployment of fibre infrastructure in the north of England.”
Richard Lye, Operations Director of O’Connor Utilities, added:
“We are excited to welcome the InICT team into the OCU family as we look to grow the business in line with Group strategy. The investment in InICT represents another important step in our ambition to become a leader in full fibre network delivery and further expands our presence into the north east. We thoroughly look forward to working with Andrew and the wider InICT management team in aid of achieving this.”
About OCU:
OCU is an innovative service provider in the Utilities industry; operating on a national scale. The Company delivers a wide range of customer-focused business solutions throughout the UK and Ireland, working with a large blue-chip client base in all utility areas including; power, telecoms, water, rail, gas and directional drilling.
On the 4th of August 2022, OCU was acquired by Triton Partners, one of Europe’s leading investment firms. Triton was founded in 1997, with a belief in engaging with boards, managers, and employees to build better businesses, primarily in Northern Europe. The company focuses on developing medium-sized companies with the potential to create sustainable, long-term value. Triton operates from 12 offices across the world with their current portfolio of companies having combined annual revenues of over €18bn.
About InICT:
InICT installs fibre-optic cable for infrastructure clients across the north of England. Founded in 2018, the business has over 110 employees.
[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/news/work-begins-on-first-major-broadband-upgrade-under-5-billion-project-gigabit
