A controlled expansion strategy at Octavius Infrastructure has started to pay off with the firm delivering a strong year of growth in both revenue and profitability.

Octavius became a standalone business just three years ago after being hived off from regional contractor Geoffrey Osborne, which earlier this year fell into administration.

Since that time turnover hovered around £200m but in the last 12 months to March 2024 Octavius delivered a step change with revenue jumping £61m to £277m.

This was buoyed by both organic growth and acquisitions in its core markets of rail and highways.

Long-term framework appointments to all four Network Rail regions and awards on several new local highway authority frameworks have expanded Octavius’s geographic footprint and swelled the order book to over £1bn.

This includes £425m of secured backlog for the following 3-year period.

Octavius CEO John Dowsett said “Our teams have worked tremendously hard to ensure that our growth has been achieved sensibly – by selecting the right type of work where we can build longevity in our customer relationships and really add value to the communities they serve.

“As we move into the next phase of our strategic plan, we will build on these foundations.”

Organic growth was complemented by the successful integration of two strategic acquisitions.

In July 2023, the group acquired selected assets from R&W Civil Engineering, strengthening the existing Highways business.

Octavius  then went on to acquire Navitas Engineering Group, a specialist rail electrification design consultancy which significantly augmented the group’s railway electrification capabilities.

Together, these strategic investments broadened the groups offering and helped underpin a £2.1m increase in adjusted EBITDA to more than £8m, just below 3% of revenue.

Pre-tax profit increased in-year by £818,000 to £4.7m and included one-off exceptional costs associated with the acquisition and integration of R&W Civil Engineering.

Dowsett said: “Our accounts demonstrate that we continue to deliver sustained growth to our shareholders, underpinned by a relentless focus on health & safety and sustainability and an overriding commitment to delighting our customers.

“We remain confident of the critical role that national infrastructure will play in the new Government’s economic policy and are working closely with our customers and supply chain partners to ensure increased devolution will accelerate the delivery of projects to the benefit of local communities.”