STARC

What STARC does

STARC Ltd is a Cardiff-headquartered, privately-held specialist engineering services firm founded in 2009 that delivers survey, design, installation, testing, commissioning, and management/consulting services for railway signal and telecommunications infrastructure across Britain's rail network. The company works on safety-critical telecoms systems including FTN fibre and copper networks, SCADA cable systems, trackside telephony, passenger information systems, and Crossrail-specific installations, using specialist tooling such as EXFO multidisciplinary test equipment and CAD/GIS-based survey systems. STARC holds a provisional Network Rail Principal Contractor Licence, RISQS Link-Up Engage Qualified status, and ISO 9001/14001/45001 certifications, and its installation team is IRSE-licensed.

STARC's commercial model is project-based professional services revenue earned through direct contracts with railway infrastructure operators and tier-1 rail construction contractors. Named clients include Network Rail and Crossrail (government anchor clients) and Balfour Beatty, Bam Nuttall, Volker Rail, Amey Rail, Galliford Try, and Lowery (enterprise contractors). The go-to-market is enterprise field sales, with direct bidding enabled by the PCL on Network Rail managed infrastructure. Pricing is project-specific, reflecting scope, scale, and complexity, with no standardised tiers publicly disclosed.

The firm is small (11-50 employees) and operates exclusively in the United Kingdom (England and Wales), with a leadership team (Philip Owen, Julian Tee) collectively bringing over 45 years of railway industry experience and IRSE/IET professional memberships. STARC has no disclosed external shareholders, no parent company, no subsidiaries, and no disclosed funding rounds; it is founder-controlled. The 436% revenue growth between 2012-2014 (recognised in the 2015 Fast Growth 50 awards) and delivery of large-scale projects such as 100km+ of FTN cabling and 50km / 13 stations of Crossrail West works indicate historical execution credibility, though no post-2019 financial data is available to characterise recent trajectory.

Name

STARC

Legal name

STARC Ltd

Website

https://starcltd.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

STARC Ltd is a Cardiff-based specialist engineering firm that delivers survey, design, installation, testing, and commissioning services for railway signal and telecommunications infrastructure across Britain's rail network, primarily serving Network Rail, Crossrail, and tier-1 rail construction contractors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Railway Engineering Services

NAICS

Support Activities for Rail Transportation (4882), Power and Communication Line and Related Structures Construction (237130)

SIC

Railroad Equipment (3743), Services-Testing Laboratories (8734)

akta.pro primary industry

Rail Infrastructure Authorities (Track, Stations, Grade Crossings) (BPAIALAG)

Keywords

• Railway telecommunications services
• Railway signalling design
• Rail infrastructure engineering
• Fibre optic installation
• Test and commissioning

Headquarters

HQ city

Cardiff

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Railway Telecommunications Services: Project-based professional services revenue from survey, design, installation, testing, commissioning and maintenance of railway signal and telecommunications infrastructure. Revenue is generated through contracts with rail industry clients including Network Rail, Crossrail, and tier-1 contractors on specific project engagements.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

STARC provides professional engineering services for the UK rail industry, delivering survey, design, installation, test and commissioning of safety-critical railway signal and telecommunications infrastructure. The company works as a Network Rail Principal Contractor on fibre optic networks, copper cabling, SCADA systems, and trackside safety communication equipment across Britain's rail network, with particular depth in Crossrail and Network Rail programmes.

Product overview

STARC Ltd is a professional engineering services company for the modern railway, providing a comprehensive suite of integrated telecommunications services. The company's portfolio consists of five core service modules: Survey Services (cable and asset location/validation), Design Services (CAD-based cabling design and Cable Lift and Shift Proposals), Installation Services (fibre/copper networks, SCADA, telephony, CCTV, passenger systems), Test & Commissioning (safety critical telecommunications testing using EXFO equipment), and Management & Consulting (project management and engineering consultancy). These services are delivered as an integrated offering enabling STARC to provide complete project lifecycle support from initial survey through design, installation, testing, to commissioning and ongoing maintenance for railway signal and telecommunications infrastructure.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Survey Services Railway asset surveying service for Network Rail and rail industry clients, covering cable location, validation, correlation and recording. Uses CAD and Geographical Information Systems to provide accurate precision plans and documentation for relay rooms, concentrators, fibre/copper cables, and trackside telecommunication equipment.
• Design Services Cabling design service for railway telecommunications clients, ranging from low-level designs to CAD-supported designs and redline drawings. Includes Cable Lift and Shift Proposals (CLaSPs) for Crossrail station remodelling schemes, delivering railway operational telecoms projects from design stages through to operational trackside telecommunications equipment.
• Installation Services Telecommunication and signalling supply and installation service for railway clients, including fibre network installations, copper network installations, transmission systems (FTN), SCADA cable systems, security CCTV, help points, passenger information systems, trackside telephony (SPTs, PZTs), safety telephony (PETS systems), Customer Interface Systems (CIS, PA, SISS), and GSM-R improvements.
• Test & Commissioning Services Testing, commissioning and fault-finding service for safety critical railway telecommunications systems, using EXFO multidisciplinary test equipment under TMT & FIP guidelines. Covers FTN National Fibre rings, FTN National Copper circuits, Relock Recontrol projects, SPTs, PZTs, and Crossrail installations.
• Management & Consulting Services Specialist railway management and engineering consultancy service for rail industry clients, including safety documentation production (CPPs, WPPs, TBs, SSOWPs), cost reduction advice, planning coordination, feasibility studies, operational project management, trend analysis, design management, and commissioning support.

Named customers8 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

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Network RailcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNetwork Rail sponsored and supported STARC's application for the Provisional Principal Contractor Licence. STARC is now able to directly bid for projects as a main or managing contractor on Network Rail managed infrastructure. Network Rail's HUB platform also hosted a Crossrail photo competition where STARC's Operations Director won first prize.
• LowerycoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerSTARC and Lowery collaborated on multiple Crossrail West Outer projects including the 30PR copper cable design and installation between Stockley and Maidenhead (approximately 25km), and the IP WAN fibre infrastructure installation from Paddington to West Drayton.
• IRSE (Institution of Railway Signal Engineers)coreOthersSTARC's core team includes Fellows and Members of the IRSE. The Institution awards Fellow or Member grade to engineers who have held senior responsibility positions and acquired specialist knowledge. STARC's installation team is licensed by IRSE.
• IET (Institution of Engineering and Technology)minorOthersSTARC's core team includes Fellows and Members of the IET, an international institution with around 160,000 members across 127 countries working to engineer a better world.
• ISOQARminorOthersIndependent external audit body for ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015, and ISO 45001:2018 certifications.
• CIRAS (Confidential Incident Reporting and Analysis System)minorOthersSTARC is a member of CIRAS, the Confidential Incident Reporting and Analysis System which provides a protective safety net for capturing concerns before they manifest as incidents.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• AtkinsRéalis: Large engineering consultancy providing rail signalling and telecoms design services across the UK market — operates at far greater scale and breadth than STARC but in overlapping scope, often competing for the same consultancy and design packages.
• WSP: Global engineering consultancy with a significant UK rail practice covering signalling, telecoms and electrification design — competes for rail engineering consultancy work overlapping with STARC's design and management consulting services.

Direct peers

• Linbrooke Services: UK rail signalling, telecommunications and power engineering contractor delivering design, build, test and commissioning to Network Rail and major contractors — a closely comparable specialist SME in the same niche.
• Balfour Beatty Rail: Major UK rail construction and engineering prime contractor delivering track, signalling and telecoms works — both an STARC customer and a competing bidder for rail telecoms scope at much greater scale.
• Thales Ground Transportation: Global rail signalling and telecommunications systems house with significant UK activity (European Train Control System, interlocking) competing for the same Network Rail signalling scope.
• Volker Rail: UK specialist rail engineering and installation contractor, both a customer of STARC (lift-and-shift work) and a direct competitor on rail cable and telecoms packages across Network Rail frameworks.
• Babcock Rail: Babcock International's rail division delivers signalling, telecoms and electrification services to Network Rail and major UK programmes, overlapping directly with STARC's scope across multiple rail frameworks.
• Amey Rail: UK rail infrastructure services provider delivering telecoms, signalling, civils and asset maintenance — listed STARC customer and overlapping direct peer for Network Rail telecoms packages.
• Telent Technology Services: UK-headquartered specialist in rail telecommunications and signalling design, installation and maintenance, serving Network Rail and tier-1 contractors — directly comparable in customer base, scope and go-to-market model to STARC.
• Siemens Mobility: Major rail signalling, telecom and rolling stock systems provider active in the UK rail market, competing on FTN, GSM-R and station systems scope overlap with STARC's installation and commissioning offering.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/starc_ltd
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/starc-limited

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 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 STARC