STAR Capital Partnership has announced that it has acquired Rail Operations UK Limited, who have the Rail Operations Group Ltd and Rail Operations (Rolling Stock Management) Ltd subsidiaries.

Additionally, ROUK has a new subsidiary, Orion, which aims to provide high-speed logistics.

STAR has acquired a majority stake in Rail Operations UK and will provide significant growth in capital to boost the expansion plans of the company.

Neil Bennett will be appointed Executive Chairman of ROUK as part of the acquirement.

STAR already had previous investments in Eversholt Rail Group and Abellio GmbH in Germany.

Paul Gough, Managing Partner of STAR, said, “We are delighted to have acquired ROUK, which we believe exhibits several characteristics that STAR looks for in a platform investment, including a strong reputation as a high-quality, safety-conscious service provider, supporting critical rail operations across the UK.

Paul continued “We are excited to partner with management to help ROUK continue to grow by providing innovative, cost-effective and increasingly environmentally-friendly solutions for its customers”.

Commenting on the deal, Karl Watts, Chief Executive Officer of ROUK, said “We are thrilled to partner with an investor of STAR’s stature to accelerate our growth and expand into new activities. The growth capital from STAR will enable the Group to widen its service offering and cement further its reputation as a high-quality, safety-focused solutions provider to our customers.

“ROUK continues to innovate and challenge traditional thinking on rolling stock services and freight logistics. We look forward to playing a significant part in assisting the UK to meeting its net-zero carbon targets”.

Neil Bennett, incoming Executive Chairman said “I have enormous respect for what Karl Watts and Dave Burley have achieved in a relatively short space of time with ROUK. Working with Karl and Dave provides an excellent opportunity to combine our skills and networks as the business continues its rapid growth trajectory.

“STAR’s pedigree in rail means that we can take the business to the next level, backed by an investor who understands the industry and shares our vision for ROUK”.

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