What McAllister Group does

McAllister Group is a Northern Ireland-headquartered environmental services contractor specialising in the inspection, maintenance, and trenchless rehabilitation of sewers, drains, and culverts. Founded in 1971 in Newry by three brothers (Eamon, Michael, and Patrick McAllister), the company operates across two principal service lines: a 24/7 residential drain-clearance and repair business for homeowners, and a corporate business delivering CCTV surveying, CIPP and UV-cured CIPP lining, robotic high-pressure water-jet cutting, Quick-Lock mechanical repairs, manhole rehabilitation, directional drilling, pipe bursting, and specialist construction (shaft construction, pipe jacking, tunnel/culvert rehabilitation) to water utilities, infrastructure projects, and Tier 1 civil contractors. Core technology includes van-mounted crawler CCTV units with WinCan VX reporting, factory-prepared UV-cured liners capable of manhole-to-manhole installation within four hours, WRc-approved mechanical repair systems with a 50-year guarantee, and robotic cutting equipment capable of clearing hard scale, concrete, and intruding connections. Since 1987, survey teams have catalogued over 5 million metres of pipeline and 125,000+ manholes.

The company runs four offices (Newry HQ, Belfast, London, Heathrow) with 170+ staff and 140+ vehicles, and holds ISO 45001, ISO 9001, and ISO 14001 certifications alongside Investors in People accreditation. Revenue is generated through a mix of transaction-fee residential work (quote-based emergency drainage), project-based corporate services, and multi-year utility framework agreements — most notably NI Water's 6-year C1170 Wastewater Networks Cleaning & Maintenance Contract and engagements with Thames Water, Irish Water, HS2, and the Thames Tideway Tunnel. A wholly-owned subsidiary, McAllister Specialist Construction Ltd (formed 2020), extends the offering into specialist civil engineering. In 2024, McAllister was acquired by Vortex Companies, a global trenchless infrastructure platform operating across 29 locations; the McAllister family (Peter and Leo) remain in leadership alongside Vortex-appointed executives.

Name

McAllister Group

Legal name

McAllister Brothers Ltd.

Website

https://mcallistergroup.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1971

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

McAllister Group is a Northern Ireland-founded (1971) trenchless environmental services contractor that inspects, maintains, and rehabilitates sewers, drains, and culverts for UK and Ireland water utilities, infrastructure projects, and residential customers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Drainage and Sewer Rehabilitation Services

NAICS

Water, Sewage and Other Systems (2213)

SIC

Water, Sewer, Pipeline, Comm & Power Line Construction (1623)

akta.pro primary industry

Underground Utility Duct Banks, Conduit & Vault Construction (IMAFAHAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Construction Management & Delivery (EPCM/CMAR/Design-Build Oversight) (EUANALAE)

Keywords

• Trenchless pipe rehabilitation
• Drainage maintenance services
• Sewer inspection surveys
• CIPP lining solutions
• Wastewater network management

Headquarters

HQ city

Newry

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Residential Drainage Services: One-time and emergency services for homeowners including blocked drain clearance, CCTV surveys, septic tank emptying, root removal, drain repairs, CIPP lining, and gully emptying. Revenue generated through per-service fees with 24/7 emergency response capability.
2. Corporate Drainage Services: Comprehensive maintenance and rehabilitation contracts for utilities, local authorities, and infrastructure companies. Includes trenchless rehabilitation, wastewater management, surveying, and design-build services delivered through framework agreements and project-based contracts.
3. Utility Framework Contracts: Long-term contractual relationships with water utilities (NI Water 6-Year C1170 Wastewater Networks Cleaning & Maintenance Contract) providing recurring revenue through scheduled maintenance and project work.
4. Specialist Construction Services: McAllister Specialist Construction division provides tunnel and culvert rehabilitation, specialist pipeline access, trenchless pipe installation, and feasibility studies for civil engineering projects including major infrastructure like HS2 and Thames Tideway Tunnel.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

McAllister Group is an environmental services provider specialising in the inspection, cleaning, repair, and rehabilitation of sewers, drains, culverts, and waterway infrastructure. It delivers trenchless no-dig rehabilitation (CIPP lining, UV curing, Quick-Lock, pipe bursting, directional drilling), CCTV surveying and condition assessment, wastewater management and cleaning, and specialist civil engineering through McAllister Specialist Construction. Customers include UK and Irish water utilities, government bodies, infrastructure contractors, commercial/industrial sites, and residential households.

Product overview

McAllister Group is a 50-year-old environmental services company providing comprehensive drainage maintenance and infrastructure repair solutions across the UK and Ireland. The company operates as part of Vortex Companies and offers two primary service lines: Residential Services (including septic tank emptying, blocked drain clearance, CCTV surveys, root removal, drain repairs, CIPP lining, and gully emptying) and Corporate Services (encompassing Trenchless & Rehabilitation, Wastewater Management & Cleaning, Surveying, and Design & Build). A specialist division, McAllister Specialist Construction, handles advanced civil engineering projects including shaft construction, pipe jacking, tunnel rehabilitation, and trenchless pipe installation. Core trenchless technologies include CIPP lining (standard, UV-cured, and CIPR patch repairs), Quick-Lock mechanical repairs, directional drilling, pipe bursting, and robotic cutting. The company also provides surveying services using CCTV and WinCan VX technology for asset condition assessment.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Residential Drainage Services A suite of household drainage maintenance services including septic tank emptying, blocked drain clearance, CCTV surveys, root removal, drain repairs, cured-in-place pipe lining, and gully emptying. Available 24/7 across the UK and Ireland for individual homeowners and tenants.
• Corporate Trenchless & Rehabilitation Services No-dig pipe repair and rehabilitation services for utilities, contractors, and the public sector, including UV-cured CIPP lining, hybrid lining systems, CIPR patch repairs, top hat liners, Quick-Lock mechanical repairs, and robotic high-pressure water jet cutting. Designed to deliver minimally disruptive pipe maintenance.
• Corporate Wastewater Management & Cleaning Services Comprehensive wastewater and sewer maintenance services for commercial and utility clients, including high-pressure jetting, tanker operations, sewer cleaning, and gully emptying for scheduled and emergency works.
• Corporate CCTV Surveying Services CCTV drain and sewer inspection services for utilities, contractors, and public sector clients using robotic crawler units and WinCan VX software. Produces detailed condition reports, interactive 3D models, GIS layers, and .dwg drawings for asset management and planning.
• Corporate Design & Build Services Civil engineering and design consultancy for new drainage infrastructure, including trenchless pipe installation, directional drilling, pipe bursting, and tunnel/culvert construction, delivered to water utilities, infrastructure contractors, and public sector clients.
• McAllister Specialist Construction Services Specialist civil engineering division focused on trenchless construction techniques including shaft construction, pipe jacking, timber heading, micro-tunnelling, guided auger boring, and tunnel/culvert rehabilitation using spray concrete, GRP lining, and void grouting. Targeted at major infrastructure projects such as HS2 and Thames Tideway Tunnel.
• CIPP Lining Installation Service Trenchless pipe rehabilitation inserting a resin-impregnated flexible liner into damaged pipes, cured using ambient temperature, hot water, or steam. Available for pipes 100mm to 1800mm diameter.
• UV-Cured CIPP Lining Service Factory-prepared CIPP liner cured under ultraviolet light using a UV light train, completing manhole-to-manhole installations within four hours. Suitable for pipes 150mm to 1800mm diameter, including large diameters up to 2 metres.
• Quick-Lock Pipe Repair Service Mechanical pipe repair using an EPDM rubber sleeve and stainless steel bracing ring sealed via robotic installation or manual entry. WRc-approved with a 50-year guarantee and available in Quick-Lock (150-800mm), Quick-Lock Big (over 800mm), and Quick-Lock LEM System variants.
• Robotic High-Pressure Water Jet Cutting Service Heavy-duty robotic cutting equipment using hydraulic pressure to remove obstructions including hard scale, concrete, rubber seals, intruding connections, and tree roots from pipe networks.
• Directional Drilling Service Trenchless horizontal pipeline installation using a steerable drill head with guidance systems, suitable for pipes 50mm to 1200mm diameter crossing under buildings, rivers, railways, and motorways without open trench excavation.
• Pipe Bursting Service Trenchless pipe replacement breaking existing buried pipes and pulling or pushing new pipe through the bore, using pneumatic or hydraulic systems for pipes 100mm to 1200mm diameter.
• Specialist Sewer & Pipeline Access Service Underground asset access services including segmental caisson shaft construction, pipe jacking for horizontal access, and timber heading for sensitive subsurface environments, enabling access to assets buried up to 20 metres below surface.
• Tunnel & Culvert Rehabilitation Service Rehabilitation of existing tunnel and culvert assets suffering from infiltration, structural defects, or corrosion using spray concrete lining, bespoke GRP lining, void grouting, sealing and waterproofing, and traditional ribs and lagging.
• 24/7 Blocked Drain Service 24/7 emergency drain clearance service using high-powered Jet-Vac units, including CCTV survey to locate blockage, cutting and removal of obstructions, and scheduled maintenance programmes for long-term prevention. Targeted at residential households.
• Septic Tank Emptying Service Residential septic tank pumping, cleaning, soakaway emptying, soakaway repair and maintenance, and treatment plant emptying services for homeowners.
• Drain Root Removal Service Root cutting and removal from drainage systems using high-pressure jetting with specialist flail jet heads, custom high-pressure water jet cutting rigs for taproots, and robotic cutting units.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 5 million metres of pipeline surveyed and recorded since 1987
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature10 records

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Insituform Technologies (Aegion): Pioneering CIPP lining company and global trenchless rehabilitation specialist, now part of the Aegion platform. A core direct competitor in CIPP lining and sewer rehabilitation with overlapping technology stack and customer base.
• Morrison Utility Services: UK infrastructure services provider to utility clients including water, gas, and electricity. Operates as a Tier-1 contractor with similar trenchless and drainage capabilities and competes on utility frameworks across the UK.
• Lanes Group plc: Largest UK specialist drainage and water utility services contractor offering sewer cleaning, CCTV surveying, CIPP lining, and wastewater management. Direct competitor on utility framework bids across England and Wales with overlapping capabilities.
• UKDN Waterflow (part of Lanes Group): UK drainage and wastewater network specialist now integrated with Lanes Group. Directly overlaps McAllister on CCTV surveying, jetting, CIPP lining, and emergency drainage response across commercial and utility clients.
• Barhale plc: UK civil engineering and infrastructure contractor with significant water and wastewater capability, including trenchless installation and rehabilitation. Competes with McAllister on Thames Water and other utility frameworks.

Broad incumbents

• Stantec UK: Global engineering consultancy with a substantial UK water business covering wastewater infrastructure planning, design, and program management. Adjacent to McAllister on the design-and-build value chain rather than direct trenchless delivery.
• Kier Group plc: UK infrastructure and utilities group delivering water and civils contracts through its Natural Resources, Nuclear and Networks division. Competes with McAllister for water utility framework agreements and large infrastructure projects like HS2.
• Veolia Water UK: Large incumbent water utility services provider offering wastewater operations, maintenance, and infrastructure services to UK water companies. Directly competes for utility frameworks and brings much greater scale and balance sheet to bids.

Others

• Vortex Companies: McAllister's parent company and global leader in trenchless infrastructure with 29 locations worldwide. The relationship is 'We to Them' — Vortex acquired McAllister to strengthen UK & Ireland presence and there is overlap in CIPP, UV curing, and pipe-bursting portfolios.

Regional players

• Binnies (RSK Group): UK-based water and environmental engineering consultancy delivering feasibility, design, and program management for water utilities. Comparable to McAllister's specialist construction and feasibility services and a potential upstream delivery partner.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/McAGroup1971

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about McAllister Group