Aylesbury: Lloyds supports SLR's global expansion

Aylesbury headquartered SLR Management, the fast-growing international environmental consultancy, has secured a £46.5 million finance package to support its continued global expansion.

Lloyds Bank’s Wholesale Banking & Markets team co-arranged the funding, which includes a joint re-financing of its existing term debt and revolving credit facilities alongside £15m of acquisition finance.

The funding boost will enable the business, which was founded 18 years ago and is backed by private equity firm 3i, to continue its market consolidation strategy.

SLR advises on a wide range of strategic and site-specific environmental and sustainability issues to a diverse client base spanning land developers, global natural resources corporates, and local and central government bodies.

The company, which is majority owned by its management team and employees, operates 60 offices predominantly in the UK, North America, South Africa and Australia employing a total of 900 people.

Its activities include supporting the development of wind farms, multi-billion dollar oil exploration and production projects and major mining projects. Its consultancy services include site identification, feasibility studies, planning and permitting, hydrology, soil analysis, ecology, evaluation of socio-economic issues and transport traffic design construction and supervision.

The company’s growth has been fuelled by increased social and corporate awareness of environmental issues, particularly over the last five years during which time SLR has achieved a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in sales of 25%.

The rising cost of natural resources, increased legislation and regulation and the emergence of new technologies, such as hydraulic fracturing in natural gas exploration, have also been major contributory factors to increased demand for environmental consulting.

The company, which has banked with Lloyds Bank since its inception, was the subject of a management buyout in 2004, when private equity firm ISIS acquired a significant minority stake. Since then, Lloyds has provided five rounds of financing to support its international growth strategy, which has included 12 acquisitions predominantly in overseas markets.

Today, SLR is backed by private equity investor 3i, which replaced ISIS in 2008.

The company said it would now target further acquisitions across the highly fragmented environmental consultancy sector in high growth overseas markets where it has already established operations, such as North America, whilst maintaining its strong organic growth and reputation for the highest technical standards.

David Richards, CEO of SLR, said: “Despite the widely reported challenges of raising finance in the current climate, our ability to secure increased facilities to continue our growth is testimony to the strength of our relationship with Lloyds Bank. It also demonstrates their belief in our business model, market proposition, international growth strategy and management team.”

Mark Clinkskel, relationship director at the Reading office of Lloyds Bank Wholesale Banking & Markets, said: “Our relationship with SLR stretches back almost two decades to the start of its journey. During that time, David and his team have continually increased SLR’s scale and strength, successfully delivering an international growth strategy which puts the business in a strong position to continue expanding. The business is a great example of the world-class expertise and ambition that exists amongst many of the UK’s medium sized businesses – companies that are central to the long-term economic recovery.”

Adrian Peckham, director at Acquisition Finance, said: “SLR has a highly acquisitive and experienced management team, which shrewdly directed the business’ acquisition strategy towards North American, Australian and African growth markets at the outset of the financial downturn, leading to notable growth and its resilience to Eurozone conditions.

“The company’s credibility within the fragmented environmental consultancy industry, its high customer retention rates and track record for realising notable value through the successful integration of strategic acquisitions, position it for further accelerated expansion in its chosen overseas territories through the investment of this latest acquisition facility.”

Resources: SLR Management website