Flexlife has come a long way since it started five years ago with a workforce of only three in small premises at Aberdeen Science and Technology Park.
Stuart Mitchell, John Marsden and Carl-Petter Halvorsen had identified a gap in the market for an innovative consultancy specialising in engineering and delivering flexible-pipe projects, in addition to developing patented technology offering new solutions to common problems facing the subsea sector.
It grew quickly and, in October 2010, Flexlife revealed that two private-equity investors had injected £5.5million into the business to help continued growth. Maven Capital Partners and Simmons Parallel Energy (SPE) took a minority stake in the young firm, which has received numerous industry honours for its achievements.
The deal was led by specialist corporate-finance adviser Simmons and Company International, the parent of SPE. Nick Dalgarno, a managing director with Simmons in Aberdeen, said that Flexlife had proven to be an exceptional startup company with game-changing technology that had captured the attention of the oil and gas industry.
Mr Mitchell and Mr Marsden are both substantial shareholders in Flexlife.