Marcura Group Acquires G-Ports (UK) and Falmor
Posted by Michelle Howard
September 18, 2017
Pictured above (l-r) Christian Haunso, Co-Founder and Chair, The Marcura Group Simon Francis, Founder and CEO, G-Ports & Falmor Jens Lorens Poulsen, Co-Founder and CEO, The Marcura Group (Photo: The Marcura Group)
The Marcura Group, a Dubai-based group of companies focused on providing business solutions to the maritime industry, has announced the acquisition of the UK-based companies G-Ports (UK) Ltd., which specialises in port, congestion and commodity tracking data, and Falmor Ltd., a SaaS-based cloud platform for laytime/demurrage management and collaboration. Simon Francis, the Founder & CEO of the acquired companies, has assumed the role of Group Director for Business Development of Marcura's Digital Chartering Services.
With these acquisitions and the new Group role for Mr. Francis, Marcura plans to accelerate the expansion of its port cost indices to cover costs at terminal and berth-level. The acquisitions will also support Marcura's strategic drive to provide its chartering customers with relevant software and data-driven solutions. With his deep experience in the dry bulk sector, Mr. Francis will be fully engaged in commercializing Marcura's most recently launched solution: MarDocs DRY, an online fixture collaboration tool for charterers, owners and brokers.
Mr. Christian Haunso, Co-Founder and Group Chair of Marcura, commented on the acquisition: "A key determinant for any acquisition is a convincing business and cultural fit. This is certainly the case with Simon Francis and his team. We have acquired two businesses that are all about solving real industry problems, always with the customer at the centre of the solutions. Simon has shown a deep understanding of chartering and operational shipping processes and has a proven track record of delivering sustainable solutions to the industry."
G-Ports will continue delivering its services under its current management team, which is based out of the UK. In due course, the Group's expanded management expects to explore further synergies within the merged companies and offer more compelling solutions.
