Aquamain

Who owns Aquamain?

Aquamain is currently owned by Rubicon Partners through Rubicon Partners (1993 vintage), since 2018.

Hand-verified · updated 2026-07-08

About Aquamain

Aquamain is a Somerset-based utility infrastructure contractor and the UK's market-leading provider of self-lay water services, designing, building and commissioning water mains and plot connections for residential housing developers and regional water companies. Operating as an independent accredited contractor, the company works across roughly 14 water company regions and connects on the order of 10,000 new homes and plots each year. It has since broadened into multi-utility work, adding electricity network connections, EV charging infrastructure, testing and commissioning, and planned and emergency maintenance to its core water offering. The business holds WIRS and NERS accreditations alongside ISO 9001, 14001 and 45001 certification, positioning it in the specialist self-lay and independent connections segment that has grown with UK housebuilding.

Ownership journey

Aquamain was founded in 1994 in Somerset and built its position as the country's largest self-lay water utility provider under founder Gary McConnell. In February 2018 Rubicon Partners invested in the company, backing a transition from founder ownership to an institutionalised management structure, with a new chief executive brought in to succeed the retiring founder and Mark Perkins joining as executive chairman; McConnell remained as a shareholder and adviser. Rubicon, which targets industrial services and products businesses with transactional or operational complexity, framed the investment around scaling operations, improving bidding capability and extending the business into multi-utility connections. Aquamain remains part of Rubicon's active portfolio, and no exit or secondary transaction has been recorded.

Under PE ownership

Under Rubicon's ownership the priority was completing the owner-to-management transition and professionalising a founder-led business, while pursuing organic growth in a housebuilding-linked market. The clearest operational change has been the extension of Aquamain from a pure self-lay water contractor into a multi-utility provider, adding electricity network design and build, EV charging hub infrastructure, and testing and commissioning services. The company has continued to operate across around 14 water company regions and to connect roughly 10,000 new plots a year, while broadening its accreditations and service lines to capture more of each development's utility scope. Specific revenue and headcount figures are not disclosed publicly.