The companies combine with a vision to deliver the world’s most comprehensive reference tool for port call costs in the tramp shipping sector and develop digital chartering solutions and services. 

September , 2017 (Dubai, UAE) – The Marcura Group, a Dubai-based group of companies focused on providing business solutions to the maritime industry, today 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.

Mr. Francis said: “I’m very excited to join forces with The Marcura Group. We share a vision and combining our efforts will allow us to develop some excellent software and data-driven solutions for the shipping and commodity markets.”

Mr. Jens Lorens Poulsen, Co-Founder & Group CEO of Marcura, said:

“Marcura’s acquisition of G-Ports and Falmor fits our strategy perfectly. By working with our customers and other partners, Marcura raises industry standards. We are not just about improving processes but also providing information that is very relevant to the respective digital journey of industry participants.

We view our role as that of a large-scale utility service provider, keeping our customers’ voyage management systems updated in a reliable manner. This has required us to build a compelling Maritime Master Data Environment and a Maritime Benchmarking Database, which when combined with external data sources, allows us to generate high-quality decision support data for universal use by our customers in chartering and operations. This latest acquisition greatly enhances the value-add that we can provide the shipping industry.”

Commenting on Mr. Francis’ new role, Mr. Poulsen also adds: “Simon is a seasoned, successful entrepreneur who, over the past 15 years, has managed to deliver data-intensive products and services to the broker and chartering communities as well as global commodities analysts. His collaborative, engaging personality and deep industry knowledge fit so well into the Marcura culture. Therefore, we are confident that he can elevate not only G-Ports but also several of Marcura’s products for the benefit of our customers.” 

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

 

Issued by Navigate PR on behalf of The Marcura Group.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For further details, please contact:

Jack Langley
[email protected]
Tel: +44 (0)203 326 8455
 

About G-Ports

G-Ports was established in 2003 and is based in the UK. Through G‑ports’ port and commodity flow platform, G-Ports delivers comprehensive, accurate data to the shipping and commodity industries. With its port data, G-Ports delivers structured and professionally presented proforma port costs and port restriction data to the dry and tanker industry, whilst its commodity tracker and congestion data delivers up-to-date data of berthing delays and all exports/imports of coal, ore and grains from major ports worldwide.

Read more on: www.g-ports.co.uk

About Falmor

Falmor was established in 2015 and is an innovative collaborative cloud-based SaaS Laytime Management solution that reduces workloads and errors, whilst improving efficiencies and data at all levels within a company and throughout the connecting supply chain.

Read more on: www.falmor.com