Business Growth Fund (BGF) portfolio company SHS Integrated Services has spent £2 million of the £5.4 million it received from the bank-backed fund on a new acquisition.
The deal, which sees the industrial scaffolding business buy Dixon Pentland Scaffolding Company, will reportedly provide a platform for expansion into the regulated energy and heavy industrial sectors.
Back in September 2012, SHS Integrated Services became the first Welsh investment for the £2.5 billion fund.
BGF’s backing was for use in the expansion of SHS into new sectors such as nuclear, pharmaceutical and demolition.
Doncaster-based Dixon Pentland has an annual turnover of £5 million and brings with it customers including AMEC and Balfour Beatty to go with a crop which consists of Dow Corning and Alstom.
Gavin Payne, finance director at SHS, comments, ‘Dixon Pentland’s reputation and customer base is a great fit with SHS, opening up new markets and enabling us to provide an even more complete service to our customers.
‘We shall be continuing to work with Grant Thornton [deal source] and BGF to identify potential further acquisitions to compliment and extend our offering in what is a highly-specialised market.’
The deal is the second that the BGF has closed in the past week following an investment in new portfolio business Abacus e-Media.
More on the Business Growth Fund:
- High-growth companies in the UK rise by 10 per cent, says BGF
- Stephen Welton – BGF looking to stand test of time
Paul Oldham, regional director for South Wales and the South West of England for the BGF, says that the initial investment in SHS was made to strengthen its core capabilities and develop a wider range of services for new sectors and regions.
‘Dixon Pentland is a highly complementary acquisition given its reputation in the industry as a well-established, high quality operator and will add considerably to the range of services that SHS is able to offer its clients.’
See also – our exclusive Business Growth Fund portfolio study:
