Offshore wind services business Venterra Group has secured a £30 million bond facility from HSBC, backed by the UK government’s export credit agency UK Export Finance (UKEF).
The bond facility demonstrates HSBC’s commitment to continue financing offshore projects in the alternative energy space since announcing its intention to stop financing oil and gas projects in 2022.
It also demonstrates the role of UK Export Finance in underpinning loans to the offshore wind sector through providing partial guarantees to banks.
Jamie Castle, relationship director at HSBC UK, said: “The additional facility HSBC UK is providing supports Venterra in accessing markets that would otherwise not be achievable, further boosting the reach of its engineering services to offshore wind projects across the world.”
Venterra Group said the facility “will underpin the global expansion” of the business in new markets and create “revenue opportunities across international wind energy projects”.
The company said it intends to grow its offshore wind servicing business in Northern Europe and the Asia Pacific region at a rate of 20% a year.
Through its constituent companies, Venterra Group, which was founded in 2021, engineers, builds and supports offshore wind farm operations around the world.
It said the bond facility will increase cash flow to support “advance payments and bonding requirements”.
© Supplied by DCT MediaVenterra, the offshore wind services firm founded by former Petrofac chief executive Ayman Asfari, 66, recently acquired Oceanscan Holdings, an Aberdeen-headquartered group of companies that provide subsea and non-destructive test equipment, geotechnical services and offshore personnel.
The firm’s latest financing comes after a fifth successful equity raise, including General Atlantic’s BeyondNetZero and First Reserve’s further equity investment of £30m, as well as a prior £110m of bank facility from a consortium of lenders HSBC, NatWest, Rabobank and Citibank.
Carl Williamson, director of SME and trade finance at UKEF, said: “This partnership with HSBC UK shows how the assurance offered by a UKEF guarantee can help businesses like Venterra access more finance and grow their global reach.”
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