Private equity-owned infrastructure services specialist M Group has joined the ranks of the industry’s top seven contractors after raising revenue 22% to £2.2bn.

The firm, which was originally spun out of Anglian Water for £135m in 2008 as Morrison Utility Services, delivered strong growth in its target water, energy, highways and telecoms sectors.

It now boasts a client list in prized regulated markets for Thames Water, Yorkshire Water, Welsh Water, National Grid, Network Rail, Heathrow Airport, EON, British Gas, EDF, Openreach and Virgin Media.

Strong trading saw EBITDA before exceptionals climb to £120m in the year to April 2024 (2023: £105m). This saw a group-wide operating margin of around 5.9%.

Part of this year’s growth was driven by the acquisition of decarbonisation specialist Agility Eco for £59m in late December 2023.

Much of M Group’s growth in recent years has been driven by a series of private equity owners.

Since a management team backed by private investors bought Morrison Utility Services from Anglian Water it has passed through three private equity owners.

The most recent ownership change to CVC Capital Partners was signed off in September in a deal rumoured to be worth around £1bn.

At year-end, M Group’s order book stood at £6.4bn(2023: £6.9bn) representing 80% of this year’s 2025 turnover. M Group had cash and cash equivalents of £105m (2023: £111m).

It now employs over 11,500 staff from over 235 locations across the UK and Ireland.

Chief executive officer Andrew Finlay said: “The resilient sectors in which we operate, the nature of the essential services that we provide to critical national infrastructure, our strong long-term order book with blue-chip clients provide a solid platform to further develop the group.

“In addition, we continue to seek strategic acquisitions to augment our existing organic opportunities, add deeper capabilities to the group, and expand our addressable markets.”