Westbridge has backed the management buyout of APEM Limited, Europe’s leading independent environmental consultancy specialising in the aquatic environment and remote sensing.

The deal has seen WestBridge invest £9.8 million in a combination of equity and loan notes, which will support the company’s growth ambitions as it develops complementary service lines to support its clients’ needs.

The transaction has allowed the business founder Dr Keith Hendry to retire and pursue his long-standing non-commercial interests.

Dr Adrian Williams and Dr Stuart Clough, who have been instrumental in growing the business over the past decade, will continue to take the company forward. They are supported by a broad and experienced executive team, who will benefit from the wider share ownership that this transaction has allowed.

Established in 1990, APEM provides environmental consultancy, laboratory services, field surveys and remote sensing capabilities to a range of sectors including water, power, engineering, construction and transport.

Services include water quality and pollution analysis, species and habitat surveys, and aerial surveys, all of which assess the potential impact of developments and operations on the surrounding environment. APEM also provides on-going monitoring and consultancy to minimise environmental damage.

The business is considered the thought-leader in its niche with clients that include blue chip companies, government bodies and regulatory authorities, such as the Environment Agency and DEFRA.

Headquartered in Stockport and with a turnover of £10 million, APEM has eight offices across the UK, one in Germany and one soon to open in the USA, all supported by over 100 highly qualified staff.

The transaction was led by Guy Davies and Valerie Kendall, founding partners at WestBridge, who will both join the board, supported by investment managers Edward Minton and James MacLeay.

Valerie Kendall said: “This is exactly the type of authoritative business we like to invest in and, most importantly, the chemistry with the team feels right. We are very much looking forward to working with Adrian, Stuart and their colleagues, who are acknowledged experts in this fast-growing niche sector.

“Although APEM is already successful, we have collectively identified areas of untapped potential to help grow the business further, both organically and through acquisition.”

Guy Davies added: “APEM is a well-respected and well-run business providing a number of essential services that are resilient to market forces and underpinned by government policy and regulation, which is becoming increasingly stringent.

“The UK government is committed to delivering its 25-year environment plan, which includes the delivery of clean and plentiful water, while the UK must comply with EU environmental regulations after Brexit, all of which means that demand for environmental consultancy is set to grow.

“We are also delighted with the work undertaken by the Dow Schofield Watts team, led by Peter Barkley, who supported WestBridge with this transaction. Their strong environmental consulting M&A credentials assisted us greatly.”

Dr Adrian Williams, managing director at APEM, said: “We are delighted to conclude this deal. As well as enabling us to develop a wider suite of specialist services across the UK, it allows us to exploit the huge growth potential presented by the US offshore wind market.

“We already have a strong foothold in the United States, having won four major offshore wildlife photography survey contracts in the last couple of years but there is much more to come. We’re delighted that our methodology for conducting aerial surveys has become adopted both by regulatory bodies and developers alike.

“Our success to-date, across the whole of APEM, has been due in no small part to our team of highly qualified and loyal colleagues and we would like to take this opportunity to thank them for all their efforts.

“We were impressed with the WestBridge team and feel our respective strengths herald an exciting future. We are looking forward to partnering with WestBridge over the next few years.”

Yorkshire Bank provided senior lending and working capital facilities to the group.  Jane Hartley, senior director, said:

“The team at APEM are influencers in their field, their expertise and approach is extremely well-respected and there is huge potential to take the business forward.  At Yorkshire Bank, we are committed to supporting SMEs in the north west grow and develop and it’s an exciting time to be working with such an impressive business, like APEM, as they look to the next stage of their journey, including expanding their international presence.”

Tom Kelleher, partner at Capital Law, said: “We have had a strong relationship with WestBridge over many years and we have enjoyed supporting them on this transaction, our ninth deal for WestBridge. In APEM, WestBridge has again backed impressive individuals and a great business. We have no doubt that the WestBridge team together with Adrian and Stuart can build upon the existing success enjoyed by APEM and we look forward to working with them to support the future growth of the business.”

Peter Barkley and Thomas Dutton of Dow Schofield Watts Corporate Finance provided bid support and debt advisory to WestBridge. Peter Barkley commented: “We are delighted to have assisted WestBridge in making this investment and to have worked with them and management in developing their joint vision for the future of APEM.  WestBridge’s experience and ambition combined with APEM’s outstanding reputation is a great fit and we look forward to seeing the business continue to grow.”

Three of Bury’s most prominent female business leaders appeared together at a panel discussion to discuss their experiences in business to coincide with International Women’s Day 2019.

Hosted by GC Business Growth Hub in partnership with Bury Council, the Recharge Bury event took place at The Fuselier Museum this afternoon.

The panel consisted of;

• Angela Davies, CEO of testing laboratory MSL
• Julie Ann Forbes, sales & marketing director at property management company Hamilton Heath
• Elizabeth Clarke, CEO of award-winning advertising technology company Dream Agility Ltd

Coral McFarlane, marketing manager at GC Business Finance, was also part of the panel discussion, which was chaired by Hilary Centeleghe of GC Business Growth Hub.

The discussion was lively, funny and frank, with each panellist’s business journey, the innovation challenges faced by businesses in the UK compared to other countries and Brexit among the range of topics covered.

In particular, all of the panel addressed the continuing gender pay gap, saying that pay levels in companies need to be transparent and based upon skill, while also making a point of encouraging the next generation of female business leaders to continue striving for equal representation in what can still be a male-dominated business world.

On this point, Julie Ann Forbes summed up the feelings of the panel when she told the audience: “Be brave, be confident and don’t be intimated.”

Hilary Centeleghe said: “It was a joy to chair today’s panel and highlight the fine work and outstanding contributions all of today’s panellists have made to the business community in and around Bury.

“For me, two things should be clear following today’s event; opportunities exist within a wide range of sectors in the Bury area, and these opportunities are open to everyone on merit, regardless of gender, ethnicity, sexuality or any other identifying characteristic.”

A Bolton-based recruitment business has received £500k funding from NPIF – FW Capital Debt Finance, managed by FW Capital and part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF).

Workforce recruits highly skilled labour for industries including Furniture, Textiles, Automotive, Transport and Healthcare, priding itself on being able to service both large blue chip companies and smaller SMEs through its innovative ‘Recruit, Relocate and Retain’ business model.

Workforce is run by CEO Simon Hayton, who completed a management buyout in 2016.  The company currently has a turnover of £10m and employs 40 staff at its Bolton Head Office.

The funding from FW Capital will be used to hire additional colleagues which will enable Workforce to drive its growth in new sectors.  The firm has also invested in a series of bespoke, multi-language jobsites, which will allow Workforce to open up and control a variety of new candidate streams across the UK and Europe.

Workforce CEO Simon Hayton said: “Our highly differentiated business model supplies clients in sectors of the UK economy where there are fundamental skills shortages.  We have worked very hard to develop long-term partnerships with our clients and our strategy now is to take Workforce to the next level, by opening new markets in healthcare, construction and hospitality & leisure. 

“We are in advanced discussions with a number of high profile new clients who are looking to introduce our recruitment solutions, including one of the UK’s largest care providers, a major OEM automotive manufacturer, and we have significant interest from a number of national hotel chains and construction companies.

“FW Capital have been really supportive. They are very efficient and engaging and made it clear early on in the process what was required.  They worked really closely with the lawyers involved, which made the process run smoothly and completed the deal quickly.

“The funding is vital to unlock our growth strategy. We will create a significant number of jobs and expect turnover to double to around £20m in the next two to three years.”

FW Capital senior investment executive, Simon Berry said:“I was impressed by the team at Workforce. They have grown a fantastic company with a very distinct business model which is transferrable to other sectors and will allow them to grow.

“They have already made progress with their expansion plans and I am delighted that our funding will make such a positive impact on their business. I am looking forward to working closely with them through this period of development.”

Sue Barnard, Senior Manager at British Business Bank, said: “We’re very pleased that the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund has helped to boost jobs in the Bolton region, by funding Workforce. This NPIF investment is set to increase staff numbers within the company itself, and allow Workforce to expand their offering to overseas clients.  We look forward to NPIF assisting another business to scale up and target significant growth.”

A delegation representing coding bootcamp Northcoders this morning opened the London Stock Exchange.

The honour came about after it was was named Business of the Year at the 15th Annual Chamber Business Awards which took place in November. The team also won the Education and Business Partnership category at the same awards.

Chris Hill and Amul Batra, both directors of Northcoders, were joined by a host of supporters at the event including Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester;  Darren Earnshaw, Technology Director at Barclays Ventures; Tim Griggs, Associate Director at Arup; Emer Coleman, Technology Engagement at Co-op Digital; and Joseph Venables, Head of Business Development at Bruntwood SciTech. Several graduates from Northcoders’ courses as well as representatives from some of the firm’s hiring partners – including ThoughtWorks – also travelled to London.

After starting trading for the day, the British Chambers of Commerce hosted a breakfast reception where Andy Burnham and Amul Batra spoke.  Northcoders also used the event to detail two new initiatives that aim to encourage more women to pursue a career in tech. The first is a new scholarship programme for women with global technology consultancy ThoughtWorks; and the second is the launch of a number of accessibility places with InnovateHer – a Liverpool based organisation that works to empower girls and tackle inequality in tech. Adam Marshall – Director General of the British Chambers Of Commerce – also officially launched the 16^th Annual Chamber Business Awards.

Amul Batra, Director at Northcoders, said: “We felt proud beyond words to be named Business of the Year by the Chamber. Being recognised in this way encouraged us to reflect on our successes so far in helping the North to thrive and in helping individual people to change their lives. To be able to celebrate that by opening the London Stock Exchange with our supporters, including Andy, representatives from our hiring partners and our talented graduates was a real honour.”

One of the UK’s fastest growing and largest independent software testing companies, Edge Testing Solutions, part of Eurofins Digital Testing, has opened a fourth base in the UK in Manchester city centre, to service Edge Testing’s Northern clients and continue its UK-wide growth.

The Manchester-based Digital Test Hub (DTH) will be Edge Testing’s third one alongside its Scottish headquarters in Belshill and another at its Birmingham office. Edge Testing first launched the DTH concept in Scotland six years ago and it was the first of its kind in the UK. Founded to meet requirements for a low cost, on demand testing services, Edge Testing’s DTH operates as a challenger to offshored testing providers. The DTH can be accessed easily by organisations looking for a remote testing service for applications and back office systems.

Edge Testing’s third DTH in Manchester has created five new jobs in the area, with the aim of creating 60 new jobs in the area over the next two years, from experienced test managers and test analysts to trainee software testers.

Offering a wide range of testing services, Edge Testing provides device and compatibility testing, website monitoring and website performance testing to usability and accessibility testing, functional testing, regression testing, cyber security testing and test automation as well as an expert consultancy service.

The software testing consultancy addresses the shortage of testing skills in the UK by building a pool of trained testers through the Edge Test Academy. All Edge Testing’s employees are required to pass the testing certification ISTQB within the first six months of employment, and there is also further in-house training available.

Recently launched, the company’s Academy as a Service offers benefits employees as a fast-track development program, and enables clients to develop their own ‘super-charged’ testing resources without the burden of recruitment.

Sharon Hamilton, Managing Director, Edge Testing, commented: “We chose Manchester as our third English base and location for our Northern DTH as the city and wider region both have a strong technology focus and reputation. There is also plenty of talent accessible from the local universities and colleges. Our flexible testing models have proven a huge success with our customers and have been a key part of our success in the Midlands, London and Scotland. The North is a highly-valued area for us and our aim is to increase our existing client base across the region.”

Entrepreneur turned investor Paul Haydock has launched Founder Fundraising, a new service, based in Manchester, that has been set up to help Northern tech founders successfully raise investment.

Paul previously raised one of the biggest rounds of investment outside of London for one of his own businesses, DueCourse (now Autopaid). He has co-founded three technology businesses in the North and has over ten years of experience with investors, VCs and scaling businesses.

Having experienced first-hand the frustration of spending hundreds of hours travelling south to raise funding for his own businesses, Paul is determined to help close the funding gap between London and the North.

Paul said: “The funding gap between the North and the South isn’t a myth. It really exists. I personally want to help champion the region’s tech start-ups and level the playing field.

As a founder it is hard enough to grow your business, hire staff, build the product and service existing customers. To simultaneously plan and execute a professional fundraising campaign can often be a stretch too far for many founders.

Using my experience of raising investment, I can take some of the load off Northern founders and connect them directly to the right investors so they achieve the best outcome as quick and painlessly as possible.”

Having being based in the region for over 10 years, Paul sees the North West tech start-up scene undergoing massive expansion and technology is key to transforming the region’s economy, reputation, and talent base.

He added: “At the moment, around three-quarters of all investment goes to London companies. However investors from all over the UK and around the world acknowledge that significant innovation is happening up here. Despite the uncertain times we are in, the region is thriving and entrepreneurs from all walks of life are continuing to launch new products and services. I’m passionate about helping to grow the vibrant Northern tech scene and I’m now looking to actively connect with entrepreneurs who are thinking of taking on investment to accelerate their businesses.”