BGF invests £10 million in Oxford specialist engineering company
BGF – the UK’s most active growth capital investor – has announced a £10 million investment in Polar Technology Management Group, the Oxfordshire business which manufactures high-performance carbon and metal components for the automotive, medical and aerospace/defence sectors.
BGF’s investment will be used to support Polar Technology Management Group’s planned move into a new 100,000 sq. ft. facility at Horizon Technology Park in Eynsham, Oxfordshire, doubling the size of its production capacity and creating over 110 new jobs in the next two years. The new facility is expected to be fully up and running during 2021.
Polar Technology Management Group was established in 2012 by Scott Roberts and Mike Dewhirst. Currently employing more than 200 people, the business designs, develops and manufactures products and technology based around advanced composite materials, emerging metal processes and metallic fabrications.
With a focus on high-tech R&D, Polar Technology Management Group’s key clients include a range of technology specialist companies in the medical and aerospace industries.
The company is highly embedded in the automotive sector, working with F1 manufacturers, whilst also producing parts for high performance ‘Hypercars’.
Scott Roberts, Co-founder of Polar Technology Management Group, said: “We are delighted to welcome BGF into a partnership that has secured an injection of £10m of fresh funding into Polar Technology Management Group. This will enable us to grow faster, support our customers better and provide job security to our existing team of highly skilled, dedicated, employees. The deal will also create hundreds of new jobs in the West Oxfordshire area over the next three years with investment planned in clean, sustainable, technologies supporting our expanding manufacturing base.”
Greg Norman, investor at BGF, led the deal alongside Liam Pursall, Jack Teasdale and BGF’s head of manufacturing Mark Bryant.
Greg said: “We have known the team at Polar Technology Management Group for some time and seen them deliver year-on-year. We are excited to partner with them to support the long-term growth of the business. The company has an impressive management team in Scott, Mike and Dale, and some very exciting technologies both already delivered and in development. We look forward to the growth of this exciting company as it looks to the future.”
Whitley Stimpson advised on the deal has been advising the company since the group was founded with the acquisition of SST Technology Limited. Whitley Stimpson’s advisory role has evolved from day to day business support and accounts to being the statutory auditors and handling tax compliance matters today.
The firm has and continues to support the group in a number of key areas including recruitment of finance staff, assistance with R&D tax claims which have resulted in significant cash repayments as well as advice on business hive-ups and de-mergers.
Ian Parker, director at Whitley Stimpson said: “It’s been fantastic to support The Polar Technology Management Group through this investment process and we look forward to helping the group continue to grow with this significant cash injection which underlines how valuable the product offering of these companies is.”
Polar Technology Management Group is the holding company for engineering businesses operating at the leading edge of technology. These include Polar Technology, Lentus Composites and SS Tube Technology. It designs, develops and manufactures products and technology based around advanced composite materials, emerging metal processes and metallic fabrications in high tech industries.
