Member Article

Second growth fund investment helps Hebburn asbestos firm

A successful North East asbestos management firm that increased turnover by more than 50% since landing funding less than two years ago has attracted a second wave of investment.

Hebburn-based Nichol Associates secured £70k from the Finance for Business North East Growth Fund in 2011 and has now done it again to further expand the firm’s training services.

This latest investment, delivered by NEL Fund Managers who administer the Growth Fund, has enabled the company to built a ful-size bungalow its premises - which is being used to provide realistic experiences of the situations that trainees might face when removing asbestos from residential properties.

Nichol Associates provides a ‘one stop shop’ for all asbestos-related requirements, including surveying, removal, consultancy and training operations, and an analytical testing service.

The business grew quickly after being set up in 2006 by managing director Dave Nichol, on the back of enhanced measures being introduced around the responsible management of asbestos within non-domestic premises.

The company’s UK-wide client base ranges from multi-national organisations and city councils with wide-ranging asbestos management issues, through to individuals from the health and safety, facilities management and asbestos contracting industries with a particular training need.

Dave Nichol says: “The last two years have been extremely successful for us, but we know there are other commercial opportunities out there that will enable us to further increase our turnover and create more new jobs, and this second investment will help us go for them.

“The training side of the business has always been very important, but we knew we needed to increase the space we had dedicated to it to make the most of it we could.

“Having this new facility in place that can reflect real life situations that our trainees might face will be a real boost to what we can provide, and will also help us look at wider health and safety training opportunities.

“We’ve had a really good relationship with the NEL team over the last couple of years – they know the business and can see the potential for further growth, so extending the relationship was a natural thing to do.”

Jane Siddle, investment executive at NEL Fund Managers, added: “Making capital available to North East firms that want to keep moving forward like this is crucial to the wider health of the regional economy.

“Nichol Associates have made textbook use of the initial investment capital they received from us, and they have strong plans in place to build on this progress.”

Aimed at regional businesses which are at a development and growth stage, the Growth Fund forms part of the wider Finance for Business North East Fund.

Managed by North East Finance, it will see £125 million of investment capital injected into the region by the European Investment Bank and the European Regional Development Fund 2007-13over a five year period.

NEL is looking to make around 130 investments over the five-year life span of the Growth Fund, and is actively looking to speak to ambitious north east companies with robust business plans.

For more information about NEL’s investment criteria, visithttp://www.nel.co.uk/ or contact the investment team on 0845 111 1850.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .