An investment fund backed by five major UK banks has taken a £5million stake in fast-growing oil and gas services company, Spex Group.
BGF, which was set up in 2011 to support medium-sized UK firms, will hold a minority stake in the Dyce-based company. Its investment director Mike Sibson will take a place on Spex’s board.
Spex, which is majority-owned by Jamie Oag, said it will use the growth capital investment to boost development of its tools and recruit personnel to lead international expansion.
Spex focuses on the offshore industry offering services including explosives, cutting, punching and abandonment. The group also offers a fast-track design and prototyping for technology development as well as rapid machining using state-of-the-art large Mazak CNC machines.
Mr Oag, who sold his oil and gas service company Optima to Tetra Technologies for at least £40million in 2012, bought his stake in Spex in 2012 for £1million.
Employing more than 60 staff, profits at the fast-growing firm almost trebled in 2012. It made a pre-tax profit of £2.9million in its most recent year for which it published accounts, up from £1million in 2011. Turnover nearly doubled to £13.9million.
From its base in the North Sea it has established operations in the US, Mexico and Saudi Arabia.
Mr Oag said: “Spex has a unique blend of technology and capabilities in-house. We provide these services for major customers, with an increasing international footprint.
“At the same time we are applying the same expertise to some real and urgent customer problems in the oil and gas industry.
“The financial support from BGF can speed up our response, allowing us to invest in people, tools and manufacturing equipment while allowing Spex to maximise the potential of existing technologies that the company believes will be transformational for well control.”
Mr Sibson said the investment was a “great fit” for BGF. “Spex has built an excellent position based on a unique set of skills, and has exceptionally strong engineering capabilities. It is an ambitious team with a vision to build an international business.
“We look forward to working to achieve the vision. BGF started the year with great momentum.”
BGF was launched as a £2.5billion fund by Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, RBS, and Standard Chartered.
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