Fish pen monitoring equipment supplier RS Aqua bought by General Oceans

Underwater technology group General Oceans has acquired ocean technology specialist RS Aqua in a move that it said will strengthen the positions of both companies.

Portsmouth-based RS Aqua provides technologies and expertise covering a broad spectrum of ocean research disciplines including aquaculture intelligence. It rents out and services a variety of cage sensors that are supplied by US-based Innovasea and are linked to Innovasea’s RealFish Pro real-time farm data platform.

Parent company General Oceans Ltd is headquartered in London but its companies are spread over the globe. It has made a number of recent acquisitions in the underwater technology market including UK and US-based Tritech International Ltd in 2022 and US-based Klein Marine Systems in 2023.

Tritech has UK sites in Ulverston, Cumbria; Westhill, Aberdeenshire; and Edinburgh, and an office in Christiansburg, Virginia, in the US. It supplies the offshore energy and defence industries with imaging and ancillary equipment for use in underwater applications and has also marketed these for use in aquaculture.

Other companies owned by General Oceans are Nortek Group (Norway); Reach Robotics (Australia); and Strategic Robotic Systems (US).

£62m in revenues

General Oceans said in a press release that it reported revenues of £62 million in 2023, an increase of 28% compared to 2022. According to its 2023 annual report, group EBITDA - a measure of operating profit - was NOK 127m (£9.1m). General Oceans employs more than 300 people based in Europe, UK, US and Australia.

Atle Lohrmann, president of General Oceans, said: “RS Aqua are an important acquisition for General Oceans and we couldn’t be happier they are joining the group. We believe RS Aqua will play a significant role in strengthening the position of General Oceans within the UK market, and vice versa. There are significant opportunities for collaboration and partnerships for RS Aqua within the group: something that is fundamental to General Oceans.”

Martin Stemp, managing director of RS Aqua, said he was delighted that RS Aqua had joined the General Oceans group.

“We share a passion and commitment to ocean technology innovation and I’m excited for this next crucial stage of RS Aqua’s growth.”

RS Aqua will continue to operate as an autonomous business within General Oceans.