3sun Group plans to build out from its base in Great Yarmouth into northern Europe following the company’s maiden funding round.
The business, which provides products and services to the global energy industry, has banked £10 million of growth capital from the Business Growth Fund (BGF).
Having been founded in 2007 by Graham Hacon, 3sun Group employs 240 staff and has additional sites in Scotland, Norway, Germany and Denmark.
Its current turnover of approximately £25 million is derived from supplying control panels for offshore oil and gas sub-sea and platform applications alongside installation, inspection and maintenance of wind turbines.
Hacon, managing director of 3sun Group, says, ‘This significant sum will prove highly beneficial for 3sun Group in the long run, providing us with the additional capital required to accelerate our capabilities and increase our global presence.
‘We are outgrowing our current premises and expect 50 more employees by March 2015 increasing an extra 200 by March 2017, so we will be investing in a new site for our headquarters.’
The investment by the BGF marks the latest in a line of energy services companies that the firm has backed. Portfolio companies in the sector contained within its portfolio include STATS Group, Aubin, Petrotechincs, Magma Global and Inoapps.
The BGF has now backed 46 companies with over £250 million from its £2.5 billion fund since it began investing in 2011.
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BGF investment director Chris Hodges says that the firm was impressed by the ability of Hacon and 3sun Group to grow from a small outfit to its current position in the market.
‘3sun has consistently won market share on the back of its reputation for delivering high quality service and its responsiveness to customer needs, both in the oil and gas sector and increasingly in the offshore wind market,’ Hodges adds.
‘Boosted by in injection of growth capital, it is in the great shape to take advantage of growing demand for its services.’
