North West Business Briefs: Fleetsolve; Begbies Traynor; Aberla Energy; DWF; Central Recruitment

Renewable bioenergy specialists Fleetsolve has signed a partnership with Dutch engine company MAN Rollo BV to supply the growing UK combined heat and power market as part of ambitious growth plans.

Under the new partnership Fleetsolve, based in Bromborough, becomes the UK distributor for MAN Rollo’s engines, parts and services for the combined heat and power (CHP) sector from its Wirral headquarters and its five regional service centres. This partnership also creates 20 jobs in the North West.

MAN Rollo BV is a global player and has been supplying diesel and gas engines to the industrial and maritime sectors across nine countries for more than 100 years. The engines are used in power and heat supply, agricultural machines, cranes and trains, work vessels, coastal and inland vessels.

Although Fleetsolve is best known for its ‘green’ biofuel CHP systems, the UK CHP market is dominated by a range of complementary technologies, including natural gas, methane and diesel which need to be supported and maintained efficiently for the next 10 years as the market moves to renewable fuels of the future. Rather than customers abandoning their legacy heat and power equipment, Fleetsolve understands that in the short term these engines will need to be expertly maintained and serviced.

Keith O’Connor, Fleetsolve CEO, said: “This partnership is a significant milestone in the Fleetsolve journey. We’re proud to partner with such a prestigious global company as MAN Rollo and relish the opportunity to work together to support the existing and new customer markets that are out there. It not only future proofs the supply of MAN parts and service for the UK market following Brexit, but it also supports our plans to supply all industry sectors with all fuel types and all sizes of power generation.”

Michel van Gulik, general manager MAN Rollo, said: “We believe that Fleetsolve is in the position to fulfil customer demand for premium industrial solutions. Their knowledge, experience and customer relations make them a powerful partner. We welcome them to our team.”

Fleetsolve was advised by the commercial team at independent law firm Brabners.

::

Ric Traynor

Manchester insolvency and property services specialist has confirmed that its £25m acquisition of David Rubin & Partners Limited has completed and is now unconditional in all respects.

This represents the largest acquisition the group has undertaken to date and builds on the recent acquisition of CVR Global, resulting in a significant increase in the scale of the group’s business recovery and financial advisory business, especially in the key London market.

Begbies raised £22m in an oversubscribed share placing as part of the acquisition.

Ric Traynor, executive chairman of Begbies Traynor Group, said: “The acquisition of DRP is our largest acquisition to date and is expected to be immediately earnings enhancing. It leaves the group well positioned to increase its market share and continue to grow its business recovery and financial advisory revenues.

“With the benefit of this and other recent acquisitions together with organic growth initiatives the group is well positioned to deliver material growth in the 2021-22 financial year.”

::

Aberla Energy

Aberla Energy, part of the Warrington-based Aberla Group, has been selected by Progress Housing Group as its specialist energy contractor over the next three years, providing solar PV maintenance and installation services to homes across Progress’ portfolio.

Aberla was awarded the contract following a mini-competition issued by Procure Plus, and will include properties across Lancashire and Lincolnshire.

Chief executive Paul McCarren said: “As the cost of renewable technologies continues to fall, it’s encouraging to see organisations such as Progress Housing invest in solar PV. Residents will benefit from powering their homes with cleaner and cheaper energy, reducing their dependence on fossil fuels and energy generated from the grid.”

Established in 1994, Progress Housing Group is one of the UK’s leading supported living providers, owning and managing more than 10,000 homes across the UK. It operates mainly in Lancashire, but offers supported living services nationwide.

Mark Harrington, compliance mechanical & electrical manager at Progress Housing, said: “Our focus as an organisation is to improve the quality of housing for our residents, and this project allows us to do exactly that. We were impressed with Aberla Energy’s experience and look forward to working with them.”

::

Alasdair Outhwaite

A team from law firm DWF’s Manchester and Liverpool offices advised private equity firm Inflexion on a minority investment in The Goat Agency, the London-based global social media and influencer marketing agency.

Founded in 2015, Goat is focused on helping big brands to use influencer marketing effectively. It couples a data-led approach with deep industry insight to help large blue chip corporates such as Dell, King and Tesco, reach niche audiences at scale through the use of influencers.

DWF’s corporate specialists provided legal advice to Inflexion, led by partner, Alasdair Outhwaite and associate, Rosie Spencer and solicitor, Lara Benson.

Alasdair, said: “This deal builds further on Inflexion’s strong track record in acquisitive growth and we are pleased to have once again played a role in bringing an Inflexion transaction to completion.”

Simon Turner, managing partner, Inflexion, said: “Goat is a dynamic and progressive business with a unique market position. Influencer marketing is becoming an increasingly important way to engage consumers and Goat is the market leader in its field. The company already has world class digital and data capabilities, and we are confident that, together, we can grow the business to a position of unique scale in its markets.”

::

Central Recruitment’s new base

Blackburn-based Central Recruitment has secured a £900,000 funding package from NatWest to drive its ambitious growth plans.

Central Recruitment, which supplies temporary staff to the industrial, engineering and commercial sector, will use the finance to support working capital as it relocates to a Blackburn town centre office.

Located on Darwen Street, the 1,200 sq ft office has space for eight desks and a meeting room, enabling the team to continue to grow. Plans are already under way to recruit an additional member of staff in April, bringing the team to six full-time employees.

Natalie Smith founded the firm in 2015 after spending 10 years working for large recruitment firms. She has worked closely with NatWest and Boost Business Lancashire to grow the business. She said: “We have exciting plans for this year, starting with our office move. Our new building has a shop front to display our logo and I feel like this will really establish Central Recruitment as a brand.”

The deal was delivered by Jonathan Tinsley, NatWest senior relationship manager and John Sheridan, business development manager, Royal Bank of Scotland Invoice Finance. Jonathan said: “Natalie is a passionate recruiter and the funding from NatWest will enable her to reach her next growth milestone as a business owner.”