Land & Water
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1979
- HeadquartersGuildford, United Kingdom
- Headcount251–500
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Land & Water does
Land & Water Group Limited is a UK-based specialist civil and environmental engineering contractor operating at the land-water interface, founded in 1979 and headquartered in Guildford, Surrey. The company executes wet civil engineering projects including dredging, flood and coastal defence construction, waterway maintenance and restoration, marina design and construction, erosion control, habitat creation, and bioengineering, primarily serving UK government bodies (Environment Agency, Canal & River Trust, Natural England, Port of London Authority, local councils), major civil contractors, heritage estates (notably Blenheim Palace), aggregates producers, and conservation organisations including the RSPB.
The business operates through two interlocking divisions. Land & Water Plant Hire holds the largest fleet of long-reach excavators in the UK and Europe (3-55 tonnes, 6m-27m reach), supplemented by amphibious excavators (Truxor, WK20/90/150), marine plant (tugs, barges, pontoons, weed-cutting boats), and tracked dumpers via the National Tracked Dumper Hire joint venture with Flannery Plant Hire. Equipment is offered with electronic machine control and safety systems (2D/3D DGPS, height limiters, slew restrictors, 360-degree cameras) and can be supplied with CPCS/NPORS-certified operators. Contracting services are delivered through wholly-owned subsidiaries including Land & Water Services Ltd (marine engineering), Land & Water Remediation Ltd (managing the Rainham Jetty and tipping facility), and Geomac (marina feasibility and planning).
Revenue is generated through project-based contracts for civil engineering works and equipment rental (daily/weekly/monthly hire with or without operators) at quote-based pricing. Distribution is direct via a national hire desk, regional depots across the UK, and project-based engagement with government and enterprise clients. The company is privately held under the ultimate parent M.H.J. Limited, employs 170+ people, and is positioning itself as the UK's first regenerative contractor, with active partnerships in saltmarsh recovery, wetland habitat creation, and carbon reduction initiatives.
Land & Water firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Land & Water
- Legal name
- Land & Water Group Limited
- Website
- https://land-water.co.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1979
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 251–500 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Land & Water industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Civil Engineering Services
- NAICS
- Water Supply and Irrigation Systems (22131), Support Activities for Water Transportation (4883)
- SIC
- Water, Sewer, Pipeline, Comm & Power Line Construction (1623), Construction Machinery & Equip (3531)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Wastewater Treatment Plant Construction (WWTP) (IMAFAGAB)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Stormwater & Drainage Infrastructure Construction (Sewer, Detention, Outfalls) (IMAFAGAF)
Keywords
Where Land & Water is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Guildford
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices8 records
Markets served
Land & Water business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Plant Hire: Rental of specialist equipment including long-reach excavators, amphibious excavators, and marine plant. Equipment is hired with or without operators. Revenue from daily/weekly/monthly hire charges with additional charges for transport and operator services.
- Civil Engineering Services: Project-based civil and environmental engineering services including dredging, flood defences, waterway maintenance, marina construction, and habitat regeneration. Services provided through direct client contracts with government bodies, councils, and private clients.
- Equipment Hire with Operator: Supply of operated plant with trained CPCS/NPORS certified operators. Operators provided for civil engineering projects requiring specialist equipment.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Equipment rental with or without operators - quote-based pricing |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
Land & Water product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Land & Water provides specialist wet civil engineering contracting services and operates the UK's largest plant hire fleet for long-reach and amphibious excavators, marine plant, and tracked dumpers. The company delivers dredging, flood defences, waterway restoration, marina construction, habitat regeneration, and erosion control projects for government bodies, contractors, and private clients across the UK.
Product overview
Land & Water is an environmental and civil engineering company operating at the land-water interface. The business operates through two main divisions: Land & Water Plant Hire (a plant and equipment rental business) and contracting services. Plant Hire offers the UK's largest fleet of long reach excavators (3-55 tonnes, 6m-27m reach), amphibious excavators (Truxor, WK series), marine plant (tugs, barges, pontoons), and tracked dumpers, all available with safety systems (electronic dig control, GPS/DGPS, cameras) and various attachments. Contracting services span dredging, flood defences, waterway maintenance/restoration, erosion control, marina design/construction, waterway infrastructure and piling, waste re-use and habitat creation, bioengineering, and broader infrastructure projects. The company also operates joint ventures including National Tracked Dumper Hire and Geomac (marina development).
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Land & Water Plant Hire
- Long Reach Excavator Hire
- Amphibious Excavator Hire
- Marine Plant Hire
- Tracked Dumper Hire
- Dredging Services
- Flood Defence Construction
- Waterway Maintenance and Restoration
- Erosion Control and Revetments
- Marina Design and Construction
- Regeneration Services
- Waterway Infrastructure and Piling
- Waste Re-use and Habitat Creation
Quantifiable outcome
- 46% reduction in carbon emissions against 2019 baseline (52% per £million turnover)
- +7 more outcomes
Companies that use Land & Water
Customer profileNamed customers8 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Land & Water technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature5 records
Land & Water partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Flannery Plant HirecoreJoint venture partnership in National Tracked Dumper Hire (NTDH) company, providing a fleet of tracked dumper trucks for hire. Management is provided by both Flannery Plant Hire and Land + Water Plant. No employees at NTDH.
- Crown EstatecoreThree-year partnership for saltmarsh recovery using innovative techniques at Lymington. Crown Estate and Land & Water working to scale up sediment reuse for habitat regeneration rather than dumping dredged material at sea.
- Lymington Harbour CommissionerscorePartnership on Lymington saltmarsh restoration project to support habitat regeneration and coastline protection.
- Chichester Harbour ConservancycorePartnership on saltmarsh recovery techniques at Lymington for innovative habitat regeneration.
- Port of London AuthoritycorePartnership for Rainham Marshes Habitat Creation Scheme. Agreement to manage filling of Port of London Authority's dredging tip which is to be filled and restored to form wetland marsh.
- Natural EnglandcorePartnership on Rainham Marshes Habitat Creation Scheme for London's largest-ever nature recovery project.
- RSPBcorePartnership completing restoration to form addition to RSPB's adjacent Rainham Marshes Nature Reserve, world-renowned for overwintering wetland birds.
- Breedon GroupminorEquipment hire partnership for floating quarrying solution at Astley Moss quarry near Manchester. Land & Water provides specialist floating excavators and barges for material extraction.
Scale indicators11 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Land & Water competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- BAM Nuttall: One of the UK's largest civil engineering contractors with a substantial water, marine and environmental portfolio – comparable work types but a much broader national portfolio and balance-sheet scale.
- Van Oord: Global marine contractor operating in dredging, land-based infrastructure, and offshore energy – comparable on dredging and marine plant capability but at a materially larger global scale.
- Royal Boskalis Westminster: Global dredging and marine services major with UK operations; directly comparable on dredging methodology and marine plant, but serves a global customer base.
- Keltbray Group: UK specialist contractor with civil engineering and infrastructure services including environmental and waterway-adjacent work – overlaps in contracting services though broader into demolition and rail.
Direct peers
- Jackson Civil Engineering: UK contractor working across water, environmental, marine and infrastructure schemes – overlapping customer base (councils, Environment Agency) and capability in flood/coastal work.
- Flannery Plant Hire: One of the UK's largest plant hire operators and Land & Water's JV partner in National Tracked Dumper Hire; comparable in equipment rental scale, customer overlap (contractors, councils), and wet-civil capability.
- Volker Stevin: Part of VolkerWessels, Volker Stevin delivers marine, port, coastal and civil engineering projects across the UK – directly comparable to Land & Water's marine/civil and waterway maintenance contracting business.
- JN Bentley: UK civil engineering and MEICA contractor delivering water, environmental and infrastructure projects – comparable customer base (water companies, Environment Agency), services, and project-based contracting model.
- Mackley: UK-based civil engineering contractor with an in-house plant hire division and 25+ year track record in flood defence, waterway, and coastal projects – a near-direct comparable to Land & Water's combination of contracting and equipment hire at the land-water interface.
Others
- Breedon Group: Listed UK aggregates and construction materials group and Land & Water's customer; comparability is as a customer/partner in floating quarrying solutions and aggregates, not as a competitor for civil-engineering work.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Land & Water social profiles
Digital presenceLand & Water compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Land & Water financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Land & Water leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles9 records
Land & Water subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries7 records
Land & Water funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Land & Water M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Land & Water
What does Land & Water do?
Land & Water provides specialist wet civil engineering contracting services and operates the UK's largest plant hire fleet for long-reach and amphibious excavators, marine plant, and tracked dumpers. The company delivers dredging, flood defences, waterway restoration, marina construction, habitat regeneration, and erosion control projects for government bodies, contractors, and private clients across the UK.
Is Land & Water a public or private company?
Land & Water is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Land & Water founded?
Land & Water was founded in 1979. It employs 251 to 500 people.
Where is Land & Water based?
Land & Water is headquartered in Guildford, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Land & Water make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Plant Hire is the primary driver. The others are civil Engineering Services and equipment Hire with Operator.
Who are Land & Water's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are BAM Nuttall, Van Oord, Royal Boskalis Westminster and Keltbray Group. Direct peers are Jackson Civil Engineering, Flannery Plant Hire, Volker Stevin, JN Bentley and Mackley. Breedon Group is listed as an others.
Does Land & Water have an API?
No public API is recorded for Land & Water.
What industry is Land & Water in?
Land & Water's product category is Civil Engineering Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is IMAFAGAB, Wastewater Treatment Plant Construction (WWTP), with a secondary code of IMAFAGAF, Stormwater & Drainage Infrastructure Construction (Sewer, Detention, Outfalls). Its NAICS code is 22131 and its SIC code is 1623.