Two Cork brothers who were based in the UK have sold their construction empire in deals worth an estimated €510m euros.
Tim and Tom O'Connor have never courted the limelight, even though they have regularly featured on the Sunday Times Rich List for Ireland.
They founded O'Connor Utilities in 1994, consolidating and growing a huge construction and services operation, specialising in work for major utilities in the north of England, including electricity, gas, water and telecoms.
The brothers, now both in their 60s, worked hard to build a company that today employs over 3,000 staff and contractors across the UK, working for a business that earned revenues of around £300m in the financial year to April 2022.
The O'Connor brothers have maintained strong links with Cork - in October 2017, in the immediate aftermath of Storm Ophelia and when electricity and other utilities across Cork had been badly damaged by record winds of up to 156km/h - O'Connor Utilities sent overhead line repair teams, in trucks and jeeps, by road and ferry from the North of England to Cork, to help repair power lines and restore services.
Now their OCU Group has been bought by UK private equity group Triton Partners in a deal believed to be worth just under £400m. The brothers are also reported to have sold up on some smaller operations in other deals which have added cash to the pot.
In a statement, Tim and Tom O’Connor, founders of OCU, said: “It is a bittersweet moment as we say goodbye to many friends among our colleagues, customers, and suppliers, without whom the business would not have achieved the success it has."
“However, we leave behind an exceptional management team that, with the support provided by Triton Partners and leadership of CEO Michael Hughes, will ensure more fantastic times ahead for the business. We wish all ongoing future success.”
The brothers are now believed to have set their sights on a quieter life, which could see them spend more time in their native West Cork.
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