Industrial electrical engineering contractor, Process Control Services (PCS UK Ltd) secures a £1 million ABL facility from Independent Growth Finance (IGF). After two years of growth the Derbyshire-based contractor required additional working capital resource to help drive further growth as they experienced increased customer demand following the first UK wide lockdown in spring.
PCS UK Ltd provides services on electrical projects, varying from initial development consulting, design calculations, installation, and commissioning on-site support for maintenance teams after projects are completed. Founded in 1997, the Buxton based company focus on providing a full suite of electrical contracting services to industrial customers who operate in highly regulated industries, with a specific market focus on the heavy build aggregates and food and drinks industries. PCS’s client portfolio includes the five UK heavy building material majors: Tarmac, Aggregate Industries, Cemex, Breedon & Hanson. In addition, PCS manages electrical projects at Nestlé’s mineral water plant in Buxton, Derbyshire and at the largest Nestle facility in the UK, the Coffee Centre of Excellence in Tutbury, Staffordshire.
Resilience during lockdown
As the pandemic heightened in spring 2020, major projects for cement works and quarries were forced to pause. PCS contractors were unable to work on-site and the industry almost completely shut down for a month. The main priority for the management team was to take the actions needed to maintain employee well-being and support customers as they started to re-open through the summer months. To achieve this and ensure that the company was in a strong position to achieve further growth, IGF were approached to provide an ABL facility that would suit the needs of the business.
Jon Hughes, Director at IGF, commented, “PCS approached us through Panoramic Growth Equity looking for an ABL lender who would understand the business and recognise the opportunity it has to thrive when the pandemic is under control. We were able to provide a tailored funding package, to support the business through the current challenges and to increase the facility as the business grows.”
Jake Wilson, Investment Manager at Panoramic Growth Equity added, “We approached IGF because they are entrepreneurial. They understand different situations and how to provide a tailored funding package. In PCS’ case, using a people driven business model, we knew IGF could understand the business model and the key growth drivers involved, and be able to provide a tailored funding package to suit that. As IGF spent the time to really understand the business, this has ultimately been achieved.”
Recovery and growth
Danny Burns, Managing Director at PCS UK Ltd, commented, “The industries we’ve supported for the last two decades were hit hard by the pandemic, with many furloughing staff in every function. As a result, many of our contracts were put on hold. We needed access to funding that provided additional headroom for when the demand started to return. We have a strong inspection & maintenance business as well as good project opportunities on the horizon… PCS needed to be in a place to make the most of them.”
The funding will not only be used by the business to service current markets but also for regional growth. Historically, the business has focused in the Midlands and North of England, close to a concentration of the UK’s largest quarries. In recent years there has been a growing opportunity in the South where our traditional clients have numerous facilities and are expanding to support infrastructure projects including HS2. The working capital unlocked by the IGF facility will allow PCS to fund this geographical expansion to the South.
