Specialist electronics manufacturer AWS has secured an equity investment of £5.5 million from Barclays Ventures alongside debt from Yorkshire Bank. The deal will finance the group’s plan to double its current turnover of £40 million within three years through organic growth and acquisitions.

Specialist electronics manufacturer AWS has secured an equity investment of £5.5 million from Barclays Ventures alongside debt from Yorkshire Bank. The deal will finance the group’s plan to double its current turnover of £40 million within three years through organic growth and acquisitions.

Barclays has introduced John Weston, formerly CEO of British Aerospace, to the board as non-executive chairman.

Steve Drury, a director of Yorkshire Bank’s acquisition finance team, comments: ‘While some electronic manufacturing services (EMS) suppliers operating in highly competitive areas such as consumer electronics have withdrawn from the UK, AWS has focused on more complex, low-volume products such as military and aerospace products, industrial scanners, medical devices, advanced security systems and specialist automotive products: all profitable, high-growth areas.’

AWS has grown its turnover from £10 million to £40 million following a management buy-in led by chief executive Paul Deehan in 2005. The West Midlands-based company has a production facility in Slovakia and employs a total of 400 people.