Fresh funding to fire up asbestos firm’s growth
ANORTH East asbestos management firm is expanding its expertise and mulling global opportunities after securing a second investment from the North East Fund.
Launched in 2018, Peterlee-based Asbestos Audit acts as a main and sub-contractor on asbestos-related projects of all sizes, from processing single asbestos samples to managing asbestos for industrial estates, and it works on environmental projects with clients across the UK.
The firm secured a five-figure investment from the North East Small Loan Fund in 2021, which it used to help introduce a number of new services and bring in extra staff required to deliver them.
Now it has secured a further Small Loan Fund investment through NEL, which it is using to set up and gain accreditations for its own testing laboratory, which will be staffed by five technicians.
Creating its own in-house laboratory at its headquarters allows more revenue to stay within the business, and means material samples can be tested more quickly.
Asbestos Audit has more than doubled its workforce from 18 to 42 people in the last two years, and a further 18 new jobs will be created over the next year, when it also expects to see turnover rise by around £2m to £5.5m.
It currently carries out around 20,000 jobs every year, and Ben Pickard, founder and managing director, said the firm is starting to look at opportunities in global markets as well as continuing to expand its presence across the UK. He said: “The business needs that we’re successfully servicing across the UK are equally present in overseas markets and we’re now looking at the best way to capitalise on these opportunities as part of our future expansion.
“We’re confident that the pace of turnover growth and job creation that we’ve delivered over the last couple of years will be maintained, and that there’s a great deal more for the business to achieve from here.
“We’ve had an excellent relationship with NEL over the last couple of years and the team really understands the commercial imperatives that are driving both our growth plans and investment needs.”
Susan Snowdon, investment executive at NEL Fund Managers, added: “Asbestos Audit’s impressive performance since our first investment is clear evidence of the quality of service they provide and the impact that growth capital can have on a company’s commercial performance.”
Part of the £153m North East Fund and aimed at smaller SMEs, the £10m North East Small Loan Fund typically offers loans of up to £100,000 to businesses in Tyne & Wear, Durham and Northumberland.