Leading strategic infrastructure projects and physical asset lifecycle management company and owner of the Harland & Wolff shipyards, InfraStrata plc, is delighted to announce it has acquired the assets of the Scottish-based offshore energy fabrication company, Burntisland Fabrication Limited.
This highly strategic acquisition of assets and leases spans across two sites in prime Scottish locations with particular regard to renewable, oil & gas and defence projects: Methil on the east coast of Scotland and Arnish on the west coast of Scotland. The Burntisland site will not form part of the transaction.
Both sites will trade under the Harland & Wolff brand and will represent the final fabrication piece of its UK footprint. The two Scottish sites will work symbiotically alongside Harland & Wolff (Belfast) and Harland & Wolff (Appledore).
Now through the acquisition, Harland & Wolff has multiple fabrication sites ultimately resulting in reduced fabrication timelines by as much as 30% – offering project developers a faster route to project monetisation and de-risking fabrication projects by spreading work across three distinct but close-proximity geographies.
With over 25,000m² of undercover fabrication capacity; 580,000m² of total site area and 24,000 tonnes of quayside load-out capabilities; the two sites boast an annual throughput tonnage estimated at over 100,000 tonnes.
Accessibility between the sites is also enhanced by prime waterfront sites that are capable of load in, load out and launching activities on the east and west coast of Scotland.
Methil, the larger of the two sites will be heavily focussed on fabrication for the oil and gas, commercial and renewables markets, whilst Arnish lends itself to multiple opportunities across all Harland & Wolff’s five markets: defence, oil & gas, renewables, commercial and cruise and ferry.
John Wood, CEO of InfraStrata, commented: “With this acquisition, we now have a footprint in Scotland, which is the hotbed for major wind farm projects as well as for shipbuilding programmes. We have now positioned ourselves strategically across the UK with four sites capable of servicing our five core markets.
This acquisition gives us the flexibility to optimise our operations across the Group and offer our clients the ability to fabricate faster and de-risk their exposure by offering multiple sites. As we move into larger contracts, it is crucial that we demonstrate the capacity to bid for and deliver on these projects. The acquisition of Bifab’s assets delivers that capability to us and will open up a larger demographic of tender opportunities.
Finally, I wish to warmly welcome the personnel whom we have taken on at Methil and Arnish and I am confident that we will turn these facilities into highly successful businesses that generate jobs and investment into their local economies in due course.”
Harland & Wolff is a wholly-owned subsidiary of InfraStrata plc (AIM: INFA), a London Stock Exchange-listed firm focused on strategic infrastructure projects and physical asset life-cycle management.
Harland and Wolff (Belfast) is one of Europe’s largest heavy engineering facilities, with deep water access, deep water quayside berths and vast fabrication halls, with the addition of Harland & Wolff (Appledore) the company will be able to capitalise on opportunities at both ends of the market where it has strategic and unique assets that will be much in demand.
In addition to Harland & Wolff, it owns the Islandmagee gas storage project, which is expected to provide 25% of the UK’s natural gas storage capacity and to benefit the Northern Irish economy as a whole when completed. It is anticipated that the gas storage project will bring significant fabrication and construction work to the shipyard during its construction phase.
InfraStrata Website: https://www.infrastrataplc.com/
Harland & Wolff Website: https://www.harland-wolff.com/
