Strategic report
Governance
Financial statements
6 OCU Group Annual report and financial statements 2026
CEO report continued
Broadening our capabilities During the year we continued to develop the breadth and depth of our service offering. Our strategy remains focused on providing clients with integrated capabilities across the infrastructure lifecycle, from design and engineering through to construction, commissioning, maintenance and asset support. In Power Transmission & Distribution, we continued to build our position within distribution markets, supporting clients as investment accelerates across the UK's electricity network. In January 2026, we established capabilities that have allowed us to also enter the UK transmission market, through a number of projects for National Grid. This is an important strategic step for the Group as it positions the Group as having market propositions across the main components of the UK power market, namely: generation (e.g. through our work on onshore wind farms, onshoring power generated by offshore wind farms and solar); storage and transmission and distribution. We have also maintained strong momentum within energy transformation markets, supporting projects associated with renewable generation, battery storage and wider network reinforcement. The acquisition of Valmech in November 2025 marked our entry into the heat network sector, adding specialist capabilities in a market that is expected to play an increasingly important role in the future energy landscape. The mechanical capabilities of Valmech, allied to OCU’s long‑established pipeline capabilities, positions OCU with a unique proposition for clients. Alongside our established strengths in water and environmental services, digital infrastructure and HDD solutions, this further broadens the range of services available to our clients.
Investment in people is also how we protect OCU's culture as the Group expands. Our six values provide a common reference point across businesses and territories, reinforced through leadership, recognition, learning and engagement. Our academies and earn-and-learn routes widen access to infrastructure careers and build scarce technical skills from within. Gold membership of The 5% Club, with 13% of colleagues in formal earn-and-learn positions, is welcome recognition of that commitment. Technology continues to play an increasingly important role in supporting scale, integration and operational performance. Investments in proprietary data, digital platforms and business systems are improving visibility, enhancing decision-making and creating greater consistency across the Group. We have also established a pragmatic AI program, focused on applying the technology where it delivers tangible operational value. Whether supporting street works planning, workforce deployment, estimating, engineering design or automating routine processes, our approach is centred on improving productivity, strengthening decision‑making and enabling our people to deliver better outcomes for clients. Together, these capabilities support operational excellence and provide a scalable platform for the continued growth and integration of the Group. We are now seeing practical evidence of this investment at contract level. Within our Digital Infrastructure operations, AI-supported ingestion of job packs has reduced associated manual activity by 84%, releasing time for higher-value operational work and improving the speed at which information becomes available. OCU One continues to connect field delivery, safety, skills and assurance, while our data platform strengthens management insight.
As our international operation continues to develop, we remain focused on disciplined growth, careful integration and delivering consistent outcomes for clients across all regions. In ANZ, alongside operational delivery, our immediate priority has been to establish leadership, governance and operating foundations for sustainable development. AEC's energy infrastructure capability, together with Pilecom and Bam Bam's specialist foundation and piling expertise, provides complementary strengths across Australia and New Zealand. We are integrating in sequence: preserving local client relationships and entrepreneurial focus while introducing Group safety, commercial and reporting disciplines. This allows shared capability to develop at a pace aligned with operational capacity. Investing in people, technology, safety and sustainability The strength of OCU has always been its people. Throughout FY26 we continued to invest in recruitment, training, leadership development and early careers programs to ensure we have the skills and capabilities required to support future growth. Our People First approach remains central to the way we operate. Through our nationwide academies, development programs and leadership initiatives, we continue to create opportunities for colleagues to build long-term careers within the Group while supporting the wider skills requirements of the industries we serve.
That breadth was visible in work delivered during the year: from round-the-clock electricity network fault response and complex transmission connections to renewable generation, battery storage, high-volume digital maintenance, data‑centre enablement and critical water programs. We brought together ground engineering, mechanical, electrical, design and HDD expertise where projects required an integrated response. These examples show how capability developed in one part of OCU can strengthen delivery elsewhere and provide clients with continuity from early engagement through construction and asset support. Growing internationally A major highlight of the year has been the establishment of our Australian and New Zealand operations. The acquisition of AEC, together with subsequent acquisitions completed within the financial year (Pilecom and Bam Bam in December 2025) and after the year end (Volta in June 2026), has created a strong platform from which to support clients across energy and infrastructure markets. The acquisitions have also quickly established OCU as a national presence in Australia, with operations in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia. In New Zealand, we have expanded our reach by opening a site on the North Island to complement the site on the South Island, acquired as part of the AEC acquisition. Beyond expanding our geographic reach, these investments provide access to new capabilities, new markets, new clients and a growing pool of talent. Importantly, it demonstrates the ability of the OCU model to enter new countries and then scale successfully while retaining the values, culture and operational disciplines that define our business.
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