Orange UK Holdings has acquired Southbay, a Gateshead-based marine civil engineering contractor, from founding shareholders Gordon and Gill Green. The purchase price was not disclosed. Southbay, founded in 2001, reported turnover above £40m in its latest financial year.
The buyer is businessman Orange, the brother of former Take That singer Jason Orange. Orange UK Holdings first entered construction last year by acquiring William Hare, a steelwork group with £350m turnover. The Southbay deal extends his interests from structural steel into ports, harbours and coastal infrastructure, adding a specialist marine contractor to the portfolio.
Southbay builds quay walls, jetties, sea walls and flood defences. Its work involves complex heavy civil engineering in demanding marine environments, and its clients have included Peelports and the Port of Tyne. The company has also begun work overseas: its first international project is a major marine infrastructure scheme in the Falkland Islands. The new ownership will support the management team's plans to expand in the UK and internationally while retaining Southbay's civil engineering focus.
The existing management team will remain at the helm, led by managing director Paul Stephenson and operations director Antony Ballantyne. Stephenson said Orange UK Holdings shared the team's belief in the strength of the business and its ambition for the future. He said the transaction provided continuity for staff and customers and gave the company support to build on its achievements and pursue further opportunities in the UK and internationally.
Southbay's recent work includes the North and South Shields Pier Repairs project, which won the medium-sized project category at the 2026 ICE North East Robert Stephenson Awards. Its Redcar Bulk Terminal Upgrade was highly commended in the large project category.
RG Corporate Finance advised the selling shareholders, with legal advice from Beyond Corporate. Mills & Reeve advised Orange UK Holdings, while Saffery carried out financial due diligence.