Manchester-based MHA Lighting, which manufactures LED lighting, has netted a combined £1.5 million from CT Investment Partners and Harwell Capital.
CT Investment Partners has made its commitment through The North West Fund for Energy & Environmental, a fund it manages, while Harwell Capital has a track record of backing technology companies.
MHA Lighting will now be looking to double its turnover by the end of 2013 by exporting products to overseas territories such as Scandinavia, France, Germany, the Middle East and Australasia. It will support its expansion by creating a number of new sales, technical and production roles.
As well as installing lights to the multi-storey car parks at Manchester Airport (achieving energy savings of a reported 57 per cent), it has also been involved with work at the NEC in Birmingham and 26 North Devon Hospitals.
Tom Harrison, managing director at MHA Lighting, comments, ‘This is a landmark investment which will enable us to take our business to the next level both in the UK and internationally.
‘We will use the funds to invest in research and development and expand our manufacturing facilities even further.’
More on deals by The North West Fund:
- PlaceFirst deal sees The North West Fund hit century
- Landmark deal for The North West Fund for Biomedical
- Google North West partner secures £500,000
As part of the deal, Adam Workman, partner at CT Investment Partners, and managing partner of Cormorant Corporate Finance Nicholas Morant will join the board of MHA Lighting as non-executive directors.
The transaction caps a busy month for The North West Fund for Energy & Environmental following two earlier deals. In the first half of the month it led a £650,000 investment into University of Bradford spin-out Acoustic Sensing Technology and then provided follow-on funding of £150,000 to renewable energy business EcoLogicLiving.
Workman says, ‘[MHA Lighting] has a highly motivated and skilled workforce that has manufactured a product that can shine light sideways into an encapsulation, providing safe and efficient light output.
‘MHA has spotted a significant gap in the market by developing innovative, unique and cost-effective lighting solutions. We expect the business to continue its rapid growth and deliver pioneering solutions to both public and private sector clients.’
The Energy & Environmental division of The North West Fund sits alongside five other funds, each of which have its own fund manager. The Mezzanine, Loans Plus, Venture Capital, Biomedical, Digital & Creative and Energy & Environmental have a combined pot of £155 million.
