A Barnstaple-based business that just 18 months ago was facing receivership has been successfully turned around under new management. Team Technologies (South West) Ltd is now making a profit and has generated an order book worth £4 million thanks to considerable support from Finance Southwest.
Investment from Finance South West’s Loan Fund has enabled the firm to expand into Cornwall where it now has a presence in both Camborne and Newquay.
The overall workforce has increased from 42 to 71 and it has significantly strengthened its financial position with an impressive list of major regional and national clients including the MoD, Stacey Construction, Midas Construction, social landlords North Devon Homes and Coastline Housing in Cornwall.
Team Technologies approached Finance Southwest for a business loan as it needed a workforce and operations base in west Cornwall to efficiently carry out contracts signed with construction firms in the county. The funds provided were used to acquire a Camborne-based plumbing and heating firm and create working capital in the business. Team now employs ten people in Cornwall, using Camborne as a depot, and offices in Newquay, used as an administrative base.
Team Technologies is effectively a new business built on a 40-year trading history. It was taken over by a small team headed up by its new CEO Gareth Rowe who describes the company as a “total facilities solutions provider.” This means Team is a one-stop shop for electrical and mechanical building installations. A client needing a factory re-wired could also use Team to install fire alarms, a security system and even to re-plumb the building.
Team’s unique selling point is that it has the expertise to carry out complete refits, including small building works and repairs to make good a property after fitters have completed their work. Team also undertakes a number of long-term major maintenance contracts.
Team’s CEO Gareth Rowe said: “We developed a bold vision for the business when we acquired it in August 2006 and have put in the processes and procedures to deliver this vision. The recent funding from Finance South West confirms our development to the outside world and has given us the means to complete our first acquisition and fund its working capital requirements adequately. We are committed to becoming a major force in the south west’s construction industry and I believe our achievements to date speak for themselves and demonstrate we are on the right track.”
Chris Burt, the manager of Finance Southwest’s Business Loan Fund, said: “We were very impressed by the commercial experience and knowledge which Gareth and the other members of the management team brought to the table. We believed they could apply this experience to turn around a long established business that had suffered financial difficulties which had brought it close to collapse.
“We knew that the incoming management team had a clear vision for the development and expansion of the business across the region but they were not able to raise all of the finance that was required.
“I am very pleased that the Finance Southwest Business Loan Fund was able to provide the missing piece of the financial jigsaw to allow them to put their ambitious plans for Team Technologies into place. The company is meeting its growth targets and we are confident that this success will be sustained.”
Ends
Dated 18/02/08
Notes to Editors
Team Technologies (South West) Ltd is based at Riverside Road, Pottington Business Park, Barnstaple, EX31 1TE. For more information contact Gareth Rowe on: 01271 374019 or email: rowe_gareth@hotmail.com
Finance South West is an £18 million investment fund that can provide commercial finance from £10,000 up to £1 million for buying, starting or growing a business in the Objective Two area of the South West. The company also offers business planning services and mentoring through a network of qualified professionals and a panel of non-executive directors to help businesses achieve their goals.
The Finance South West Loan Fund has invested over £3 million in 58 small and medium-sized businesses, levering more than £4.5 million into the South West economy, safeguarding 160 jobs and creating 98. The Finance South West Growth Fund has invested a total of £4.1 million in nine companies, levering £13.7 million into the economy, creating or safeguarding 160 jobs.
Finance South West is part funded by the EU through the Objective Two Programme for the South West and is an £18m venture investment fund targeting small and medium sized enterprises in this region with a range of equity, mezzanine and debt capital.
Finance Cornwall Fund Managers Limited is an investment company authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority registered in England and Wales, number 05010380, registered address 14 High Cross, Truro, Cornwall, TR1 2AJ.
For further information visit: www.financesouthwest.co.uk
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