OCU Group passes £1bn revenue as organic growth and acquisitions drive expansion

# What happened OCU Group reported a step-change in scale for the year to April 2026, with revenue rising 38% to £1.22bn and adjusted operating profit increasing 38% to £136m. That produced an operating margin of 12.6% and pushed the business past the £1bn revenue milestone for the first time.

# How the growth broke down

# Acquisitions and capability build During the year OCU completed four acquisitions: All Energy Contracting (July 2025), Valmech (UK heat networks specialist, November), and Australian firms Pilecom and Bam Bam (December). Since the year end it has added Athena Professional Technical Services (UK) and Volta Energy Group (Australia). The acquisitions expanded technical capabilities across renewable energy, power infrastructure, foundations and piling, and increased OCU's presence in Australia and New Zealand.

OCU also established a new in-house power engineering design operation in the UK and India to strengthen its engineering capability and support larger project delivery.

# Financial position and costs Net debt increased 10% to £636m following acquisition activity. Finance costs were significant at £80m for the period. The private equity-owned group reported a pre-tax loss of £20m, an improvement on a £64m loss in the prior year.

# Management view Chief executive Michael Hughes commented on the milestone, saying: "Surpassing £1bn in annual revenue for the first time is a significant achievement for OCU Group. It reflects the strength of our people, the trust of our clients, and the effectiveness of a strategy built on operational excellence, disciplined growth, and long-term infrastructure investment."

# What this means for contractors and clients

• Demand signals: Investment in grid upgrades, renewable connections and data centre power needs is sustaining workload and supports further revenue growth for firms operating in those sectors.

• Balance sheet watch: Net debt and high finance costs mean integration and margin delivery will be important to restore sustained profitability.

# Bottom line OCU has scaled quickly through a mix of organic expansion and targeted acquisitions, clearing the £1bn revenue threshold and building a material order book. The company remains acquisition-active and is investing in in-house design and engineering capability, but higher debt and finance costs mean profitability recovery will depend on converting the large order pipeline into margin-accretive delivery.