A marine engineering services business has been bought by private equity investors in an £11 million deal.

Burgess Marine, based in Dover, has been taken over in a management buyout by RJD Partners, who want grow the business organically and through acquisitions.

The family-owned business, which employs 130 people, is one of the largest independent companies in its sector in the UK, with a turnover of more than £25 million in the 12 months to the end of March last year.

It has been run by Nicholas Warren since 2008, who will continue to manage the company, following the retirement of his father David, who now exits the business.

He said: “Burgess has an excellent foundation of strong customer relationships and a reputation and proven track record for innovation and quality.

“We are determined to build on this over the coming years as the company grows to become the leading independent operator in the UK marine services sector.

“We are very pleased to have partnered with RJD in carrying out this management buyout and look forward to working closely with their team in continuing the success of Burgess.”

Burgess provides ship maintenance, repair, new-build construction and refit services from various sites along the south coast of England as well as in Palma, Mallorca.

Its customers include BAE Systems, Babcock International, Carnival and Serco. It has contracts to maintain and repair Royal Navy warships, commercial ferries and super-yachts.

Alex Hay, a partner at RJD Partners, said: “We are delighted to have completed the investment in Burgess and we very much look forward to working with Nicholas and his team to further develop Burgess into the national leader in its field.”

Richard Caston, managing partner at RJD, added: “We specialise in being the first institutional owner in the businesses we invest in, and quite often that leads us to situations where there’s a father who’s looking to retire and wants to sell out, and the son or daughter wants to buy the business.

“We’ve got involved in those situations on quite a few occasions, so we understand that dynamic.

“Quite often price is not the single driver for a deal. Other factors like developing a good understanding of the business and the broader agenda may be at play.”

Accountancy firm Kreston Reeves, based in Canterbury, Chatham and Sandwich, and law firm Brachers, based in Maidstone and Sandwich, advised on the deal.