PBU (UK) Ltd is a privately owned civil engineering and multi-utility contractor specialising in horizontal directional drilling (HDD) and underground utility installation. Founded in 2006 and based in Sedgefield in North East England, with additional depots in Leeds and the South of England, it operates nationwide across the UK and has delivered projects internationally in locations including Iceland, the Falkland Islands, Cyprus and Ascension Island. The company holds full accreditation as an Independent Connections Provider, enabling it to design, install and connect major gas, water, electricity and telecoms schemes, and works both directly for distribution network operators and for tier one utility and energy contractors, cable manufacturers, local authorities and other construction companies.
PBU operates one of the largest mid‑range HDD fleets in the UK, historically running around ten HDD rigs and a wider fleet including grabs, low loaders, articulated wagons, excavators and specialist trackway delivery plant. Its services cover green energy connections for wind, solar, battery and interconnector projects; cable and pipe installation; HDD under sensitive assets such as rivers, railways and roads; excavation and trenching; multi‑utility streetworks; temporary access trackway using IsoTrack X mats; radar surveys; and design and feasibility studies. Notable work includes extensive HDD and civil packages on a major wind farm in the Falkland Islands, remediation drilling to prevent a repeat of the Aberfan landslide, a River Clyde crossing for Scottish Power, long‑distance urban drilling beneath Harrogate, over 200 HDDs plus trenching and joint bays on the Viking Link interconnector, and a 4.5 km, 33 kV export cable and associated civils for Fern Brook Solar Park. The company emphasises health, safety, environmental management, social value, apprenticeships and support for the UK’s net‑zero transition.