Investor swoops for specialist engineering group

An engineering business which serves the aerospace, automotive and electronics industries has been acquired with the help of a £1m funding deal.

Bibby Financial Services (BFS) has provided a £1.1m invoice discounting and asset finance funding facility to First Components Group, a specialist engineering group comprising three businesses – First Components, Savigny Oddie and Datum Engineering.

First Components Group was formed in 2003 as First Components, before acquiring Savigny Oddie a year later and Datum Engineering in 2014.

All three businesses operate from purpose-built facilities in the Brierley Hill area.

The funding line from BFS underpinned an acquisition of the business by Valery Beroskin, a local entrepreneur and investor in multinational engineering and manufacturing.

BFS’s corporate and leasing teams worked with Beroskin and the First Components Group team and have structured a facility that will support plans to grow the group’s UK revenues.

The invoice discounting will provide the business with ongoing working capital, the asset finance against plant and machinery.

First Components specialise in the design and manufacture of precision milled parts, wire products, metal pressings, laser cutting and metal finishing design. The business customers in the automotive, aerospace and electronics industries.

Savigny Oddie is responsible for two industry brands – Oddie Fasteners and Oddie Manufacturing. The Oddie Fastener is a quarter turn fastening for securing panels or components that have to be quickly removed for servicing or replacement. Oddie Manufacturing provides bespoke engineering and fabrication solutions.

Datum Engineering provides subcontracted engineering services to local businesses, with expertise in various sectors including automotive, medical and general engineering.

Valery Beroskin, managing director, First Components Group. said: “We wanted to work with a funding partner that recognised our ambitions and was on board with our plans to grow First Components Group.

“BFS has been an extremely supportive partner throughout the process and acted quickly to offer a deal structure that combined both invoice finance and asset finance. The facility will help us to maintain our cashflow and provide us with additional flexibility to purchase equipment and manage invoices from customers.”

David McIntyre, corporate manager at Bibby Financial Services, said: “From an early stage we built a strong working relationship with Valery and the First Components Group management team and we developed a sound understanding of the needs of the business. This has allowed us to swiftly structure a facility to support the business’s working capital.

“The partnership is a testament to BFS’s appetite to fund ambitious SMEs like First Components Group, and we are excited to continue working with Valery and the team.”