IN Brief:
- Tekmar has secured a €6 million extension covering cable protection systems, accessories, engineering, analysis, and design.
- Manufacturing will take place at Newton Aycliffe, subject to the offshore wind project reaching final investment decision.
- An optional second phase carries a broadly similar scope and value as Tekmar expands European offshore renewables work.
Tekmar Group has secured a €6 million contract extension for a European offshore wind project, adding cable protection manufacturing and engineering work to an order book increasingly weighted towards renewable energy projects in the region.
The contract covers cable protection systems and associated accessories, alongside specialist engineering, analysis, and design undertaken by Tekmar’s in-house team. Manufacturing will take place at the company’s Newton Aycliffe facility in County Durham, keeping the production work within its existing UK manufacturing operation.
The award remains conditional on the offshore wind project reaching final investment decision, which Tekmar expects during the first quarter of its 2027 financial year. The customer has not been named. A second project phase is included as an option, with what Tekmar describes as broadly similar scope and value, although that work depends separately on the customer exercising the option and the project reaching its own investment milestone.
That structure makes the €6 million contract important without making it equivalent to fully released manufacturing revenue. Offshore wind suppliers routinely receive awards before every investment, financing, and construction decision is complete. They have to reserve engineering and production capacity while retaining enough flexibility to manage projects whose schedules can still move.
Tekmar operates in a specialised part of the offshore electrical system. Array and export cables have to transition between buried or protected seabed sections and turbines, offshore substations, or other interfaces while remaining within limits for bending, tension, fatigue, and abrasion. Cable protection systems manage those transition zones and reduce the risk that movement or local seabed conditions damage high value electrical infrastructure.
The equipment therefore has a direct relationship with cable reliability. A subsea power cable cannot be protected simply by increasing insulation thickness. Its electrical design, armour, route, installation method, and protection system have to work together. Poorly controlled bending or repeated movement can create faults that are expensive to investigate and repair once a wind farm is operating.
The new contract combines manufactured equipment with engineering and analytical work rather than treating cable protection as a standard component purchase. Site geometry, expected loading, installation conditions, seabed characteristics, and cable behaviour can all affect the final protection arrangement, particularly around interfaces where the cable changes support conditions.
The manufacturing award also arrives as utilisation at Newton Aycliffe increases. Tekmar says revenue for the financial year ending 30 September 2026 is expected to be more than 20% higher than in FY25, with second half volumes above both the first half and the corresponding period last year. The company attributes part of that improvement to greater UK manufacturing activity as its order book shifts towards European offshore renewables projects.
The operating update also shows how easily offshore supply schedules can be disrupted before equipment reaches a vessel. Tekmar said conflict in the Middle East had deferred some work and awards, while a power outage at a UK supplier delayed material deliveries into its next financial year. Those disruptions affected the pace of second half growth despite stronger underlying activity.
Working capital becomes increasingly important as contract sizes rise. Manufacturers may have to procure materials, undertake detailed engineering, allocate labour, and begin production well before they receive the full value of a project. Factory space can therefore be available while financing capacity becomes the practical limit on how much work can be accepted simultaneously.
Tekmar has added a £4 million working capital facility alongside its existing UK Export Finance backed trade facility to support that growth. The company expects to begin FY27 with an order book more than 50% higher than at the start of FY26, with visibility extending into 2028 and beyond.
The latest offshore wind extension contributes directly to that position, but its more important test will come after the customer’s final investment decision. Newton Aycliffe will then have to turn a conditional award into completed engineering, procured materials, manufactured protection systems, testing, and delivery against an offshore construction programme.
The optional second phase could add a similar volume of work if it proceeds. Until then, the first €6 million package provides a clearer measure of Tekmar’s European renewables strategy than development pipeline alone: engineering hours, factory utilisation, cable protection hardware, and ultimately equipment ready for installation offshore.
