Corde

What Corde does

Corde (legal entity SICON Ltd, incorporated May 1994 in Christchurch, New Zealand) is a privately held horizontal infrastructure services contractor headquartered in Rolleston with regional offices in Timaru and Rangiora. The company employs 251–500 people and delivers three integrated service lines: Civil Construction (earthworks, drainage, structures, subdivisions, roading), Water Infrastructure (drinking water, stormwater, wastewater design, treatment, and pipeline delivery), and Regional Asset Maintenance (roading, parks and reserves, arboriculture, and resource recovery). Following the February 2022 unification of predecessor brands Sicon, Blakely Construction, and Blakely Three Waters under the single CORDE brand, the company has expanded its service portfolio to include electrical and lighting (Arnold Jensen Electrical, acquired November 2025) and autonomous mowing (launched April 2026). Corde is described as one of the largest horizontal infrastructure teams in the South Island of New Zealand and manages over 10.95 billion litres of water annually.

Corde operates a B2B, sales-led, public-tender-driven business model targeting local government councils across the South Island—principally Selwyn District Council (described as its primary client and shareholder), Christchurch City Council, Waimakariri District Council, Timaru District Council, Mackenzie District Council, and Hurunui District Council. Revenue is generated through a mix of multi-year managed services contracts (roading maintenance, water services maintenance, parks and reserves) and project-based civil construction and capital works, with pricing negotiated through council procurement processes rather than publicly disclosed. Go-to-market is executed through regionally embedded field sales teams and key account managers per region, supported by panel listings across multiple councils. The company is led by CEO Mathew Havill (appointed May 2025), CFO Murray Lapworth, and Board Chair Murray Harrington, with internal innovation and AI-assisted productivity initiatives coordinated through a Digital Lead – Innovation & Change role and the Collective Impact Programme. Corde is governed by a board that includes former PwC and Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand leadership, reflecting a governance posture calibrated to public-sector contracting at scale.

Name

Corde

Legal name

SICON Ltd

Website

https://corde.nz

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Corde is a privately held New Zealand civil infrastructure contractor delivering civil construction, water infrastructure, and regional asset maintenance services to South Island district and city councils through multi-year managed services contracts and major capital works projects.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Rolleston

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Infrastructure Maintenance Contracts: CORDE holds long-term maintenance contracts with district councils for ongoing upkeep of roading, water, parks and reserves infrastructure. These recurring contracts provide steady revenue streams and are characterized by multi-year terms with established councils.
2. Civil Construction Projects: Project-based civil construction work including earthworks, subdivisions, water infrastructure builds, and road construction. Revenue is recognized upon project completion with contract values ranging from small contracts to major council capital expenditure projects such as the Ellesmere to Pines Pipeline.
3. Three Waters Infrastructure: Specialist design and delivery of drinking water, stormwater, and wastewater infrastructure for councils and developers. Includes treatment plant construction and pipeline installation.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Corde is a New Zealand-based civil infrastructure company that delivers three integrated service lines to local government councils across the South Island: Civil Construction (earthworks, drainage, subdivisions, and roading), Regional Asset Maintenance (road maintenance, parks and reserves, arboriculture, and resource recovery), and Water Infrastructure (drinking water, stormwater, and wastewater design, construction, and treatment). Services are secured through competitive tender processes and delivered under multi-year managed-service contracts and project-based capital works. The company recently expanded its in-house capability through the acquisition of Arnold Jensen Electrical, adding lighting design, installation, and programmed preventative maintenance.

Product overview

CORDE offers a unified portfolio of horizontal infrastructure services through three core divisions: Civil Construction (earthworks, drainage, structures, subdivisions, roading), Water Infrastructure (drinking water, stormwater, wastewater design and delivery), and Regional Asset Maintenance (road maintenance, parks & reserves, arboriculture, resource recovery). The company has expanded through acquisitions including Arnold Jensen Electrical (lighting and electrical services) and recently introduced Autonomous Mowing technology as an innovative service offering.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CORDE Plus: A community engagement and employee involvement program focusing on leadership, health and safety, sustainability, and quality initiatives.

Products and services

• Civil Construction Full-service civil construction offering earthworks, drainage, structures, subdivisions, and roading services for developments and projects of local significance to councils and developers across the South Island.
• Water Infrastructure (Three Waters) Water infrastructure design and delivery services for drinking water, stormwater, and wastewater systems, including plant design, construction, and maintenance capabilities delivered to councils and developers across the South Island.
• Regional Asset Maintenance Long-term maintenance services for local government infrastructure including road maintenance, parks and reserves management, arboriculture services, and resource recovery park operations delivered to councils across Canterbury and the South Island.
• Arnold Jensen Electrical Electrical and lighting specialist services including lighting design and installation, control systems, electrical project management, and programmed preventative maintenance (PPM) for commercial, industrial, and major infrastructure projects, integrated into Corde following the November 2025 acquisition.

Quantifiable outcome

• 10,950,000,000L of managed water annually
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability1 record

Feature2 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Arnold Jensen ElectricalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 November 2025Arnold Jensen Electrical, a respected electrical and lighting specialist with more than 70 years of experience in commercial, industrial, and major project delivery, joined the CORDE team in November 2025. The acquisition brings expertise in lighting design and installation, control systems, electrical project management, and programmed preventative maintenance. It strengthens CORDE's ability to deliver integrated end-to-end project solutions across civil construction, water, and maintenance services.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Fulton Hogan: Largest New Zealand-headquartered civil infrastructure contractor delivering roading, water, and maintenance services to councils nationwide. Closest direct comparable to Corde in terms of scope (civil + maintenance + water) and customer base (local government), but at materially greater scale and geographic reach across both islands and Australia.
• HEB Construction: New Zealand civil contractor with strong South Island presence delivering roading, bridges, earthworks, and infrastructure maintenance to councils and government clients. Highly comparable to Corde's civil construction and regional asset maintenance business across similar geographies and customer segments.
• CityCare: NZ-owned infrastructure maintenance, civil construction, and facilities services contractor primarily serving Christchurch City Council and other South Island councils. Closely comparable to Corde's Regional Asset Maintenance division, with similar council-led go-to-market and Three Waters exposure.
• Isaac Construction: Christchurch-based civil contractor delivering roading, subdivisions, three waters, and infrastructure maintenance to Canterbury councils. Comparable mid-sized South Island infrastructure contractor serving the same local government clients as Corde, including Selwyn and Christchurch.
• Higgins Group: New Zealand roading and civil infrastructure contractor (part of Fletcher Building) delivering road maintenance, construction, and bitumen products to councils and government. Directly comparable to Corde's roading maintenance and civil construction revenue streams with similar council customer base.
• Brian Perry Civil: NZ civil contractor delivering bridges, water infrastructure, geotechnical, and land development works to government and private clients. Comparable to Corde's civil construction and water infrastructure divisions, particularly for Three Waters and structural work.
• Hawkins Group: New Zealand construction business delivering commercial buildings, civil, and infrastructure projects to public and private clients (part of ACCIONA). Comparable to Corde's civil construction and water capability, particularly on integrated public-sector infrastructure projects.

Broad incumbents

• Downer EDI (New Zealand): ASX-listed infrastructure services group with a major New Zealand operation delivering transport, water, and facilities maintenance to councils and government. Overlaps with Corde's civil, water, and maintenance offerings but operates as a much broader incumbent across multiple geographies and service lines.
• Ventia: ASX-listed infrastructure services provider operating across Australia and New Zealand in transport, water, and essential infrastructure maintenance. Overlaps with Corde's maintenance and water infrastructure services but at much larger scale and broader geographic footprint.
• CPB Contractors: ASX-listed tier-one contractor delivering transport, water, and civil infrastructure across Australia and New Zealand. Comparable capabilities to Corde's civil and water construction services but typically at significantly larger project scale and as part of a CIMIC-led broader portfolio.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@cordeltd
• Facebookfacebook.com/CORDELtd
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/corde-ltd
• Instagraminstagram.com/corde.nz

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries5 records

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 Corde