Avove has expanded into the Northern Ireland market with the acquisition of contractor Jacopa Ireland, establishing a dedicated regional arm – Avove Ireland brand.
The newly branded division will operate from a head office in Newry, County Down, and a regional office in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh.
The company said this geographic footprint placed it in a strong position to support the successful delivery of water infrastructure frameworks across Northern Ireland. J
acopa Ireland employs 30 staff and has longstanding relationships in the regional water sector.
Avove will deliver multidisciplinary design-and-build projects through Avove Ireland, with a focus on water and wastewater treatment, as well as infrastructure and non-infrastructure works.
The new operation will work in a joint venture on long-term frameworks with Northern Ireland Water, although further details on the procurement route have not been disclosed.
The acquisition follows the 2023 purchase of Jacopa by Rubicon Partners, a specialist industrial investor.
While Rubicon took control of Jacopa’s wider UK business, the Irish operations were carved out and acquired by Avove.
Avove has positioned the move as part of its wider growth strategy across the UK and Ireland.
It said the acquisition aligned with its long-term vision to strengthen its capability in environmentally responsible water infrastructure delivery, while also expanding into new geographic markets.
Ben Hawkins, head of strategic projects at Avove, said: “It’s another really exciting step for us, and a significant addition to our growing capability. We’ve been incredibly impressed with how the team operates from the outset and so this acquisition feels like a great fit.”
Avove Ireland’s in-house capability includes mechanical, electrical and civil engineering, process design and commissioning, instrumentation and automation, and long-term operations and asset management.
The company also handles contract and project management, health and safety compliance, and infrastructure delivery. Its team brings experience of operating under complex environmental and regulatory frameworks in the water sector.
Jacopa Ireland formed part of Jacopa Ltd, which was created in 2014 following a management buyout of the municipal wastewater division of Ovivo Inc.
The Ireland-based arm established itself as a multidisciplinary design-and-build specialist in water and wastewater treatment.
Prior to that, Ovivo’s operations in the region had evolved through the consolidation of assets from EIMCO Water Technologies in 2010.
That restructuring transferred the trade and assets of EIMCO Water Technologies (Ireland) to Ovivo UK Ltd.
Avove generated a pre-tax profit of £13.2m from turnover of £216.1m in its most recent accounts for the year to 31 December 2024.
Source: Avove announcement