A marine construction and plant hire company based in north Essex, which has a total workforce of around 70, is to relocate its headquarters to the edge of Ipswich.
Red7Marine, which operates a fleet of 12 jack-up barges, including one currently at work on the Hinkley Point C nuclear power project in Somerset, already has a yard in Ipswich, which it leases from Associated British Ports.
It is now planning to move its head office from a site at Wrabness, between Manningtree and Harwich, where it has been based since it was established in 1999, to a larger unit at Fox’s Marina, on The Strand at Wherstead.
Red7Marine saw turnover climb from £7m in 2016 to £16m last year and is targeting further growth during 2018. Its performance represents a rapid turnaround compared with 2015 when it had to be rescued from administration after an associated business was badly affected by the cancellation of projects in the oil sector following a collapse in the price of crude oil.
Founder and managing director Nick Offord, who led the purchase of the business from the administrators, said the larger premises at Fox’s Marina, a short distance from its Ipswich yard, were needed to accommodate its expanding team.
And, with an additional barge on the way and another due to follow, the company’s workforce was set to expand further, including additional back office jobs at HQ as well as crew, he said.
Red7Marine originally specialised in marine and water-side construction projects, with the portfolio of schemes in which it has been involved including major London projects such as the Olympic Park at Stratford, the Crossrail station at Canary Wharf and the cable car at Greenwich, as well as coastal projects the length and breadth of Great Britain.
More recently, it has begun to focus on the energy sector, with a particular emphasis on offshore wind as well as in nuclear and tidal power and in oil and gas decommissioning.
“We have spent 20 years becoming lead supplier to the construction industry and now it is our goal to become the leading supplier to the renewables industry,” said Mr Offord.
“The aim is to take the business into a new place and help get us away from the roller-coaster of Government spending,” he added.
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