Acquisition of world leading UXO specialist, Ordtek

Date: 2022-03-01

Venterra Group Plc, the offshore wind energy services business, today announces the acquisition of Ordtek, a world leading provider of unexploded ordnance (‘UXO’) risk management consultancy.

Venterra was formed to create a global services champion supporting the offshore wind industry’s rapid expansion and leading role in the energy transition. It is building a service offering across the windfarm lifecycle, comprising Engineer, Build and Support services through a combination of acquisition and investment to generate accelerated growth in the fast-growing market. 

Based in Norfolk, in the East of England, Ordtek’s approach to addressing UXO risk employs an intelligent blend of risk management, industry specific learning and geoscience techniques to assess and mitigate the risks posed to maritime development.  The business serves leading offshore wind developers and TSOs worldwide and plays a critical role in the safe development of new offshore wind capacity.

Ordtek, led by Lee Gooderham, will form part of Venterra’s early stage ‘Engineer’ services led by existing member company, Gavin & Doherty Geosolutions (‘GDG’), the geoscience design business. Ordtek will be supported by the engineering and project management resources within GDG to provide a robust technical offering to existing clients and facilitate enhanced capacity to support new clients and projects around the world.

With GDG and Ordtek, and other initiatives already under way, Venterra will develop a unique set of marine and seabed survey capabilities giving clients the opportunity to access the leading consultants for all necessary disciplines. The individualism and responsiveness of these offerings will be retained, while establishing a coordinated service to relieve owner groups of the onerous task of engaging a suite of independent consultants.

Rob Jewkes, Venterra’s Chief Executive Officer, said;

‘Venterra is creating the most comprehensive set of engineering services the offshore wind industry has seen, and urgently needs.  Ordtek has an unparalleled reputation and specialist offering in the pre FID (Final Investment Decision) phase of offshore wind development.  We are delighted Lee and his team are joining Venterra and will immediately become an important component in our early stage planning and design operations.’  

Paul Doherty, GDG’s Managing Director, said;

‘This is a crucial stepping stone as we extend Venterra’s and GDG’s offering. UXO risk management will now be embedded into our geoscience teams which already provide clients with a deep understanding of seabed conditions as we design offshore wind farms. We have worked with Lee and the Ordtek team for years and in combination are even better placed to meet developers’ technical needs and ever rising levels of demand.’

Lee Gooderham, Ordtek’s Managing Director, said;

‘Over the last decade we have built a worldwide reputation and our services have been in high demand, by combining with Venterra and GDG we will be able to meet this demand. We collectively aim to accelerate our growth and broaden our technical offering in this niche discipline. We look forward to continuing our relationship with our existing client base and personally I am excited to be working with Paul and his highly experienced and qualified teams to help apply our specialist expertise and share our strong industry relationships.’