Phusion

Partner:FW Capital

Region:Tees Valley

Location:Billingham

Programme:Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund

Teesside-based engineering information management firm Phusion  secured a significant six figure investment from NPIF – FW Capital Debt Finance, part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF) and managed by FW Capital.

Phusion, which serves a global client list from its offices in the UK and internationally, was founded in 1992 to provide information management to asset intensive industries.

The Billingham-based company that employs a team of 20 has managed information for some of the largest engineering projects in the world and has won multiple accolades, including a Queen’s Award for Enterprise.

Phusion will invest the funding into product and business development, as well as using it to gear up for delivering bigger projects. The expansion and new product launches are expected to grow team numbers by 25% over the next 12 months.

Alex Hayward, Phusion Managing Director, said: “This investment supports our diversification strategy, which will see Phusion take new solutions to market and comes at a time when our business is continuing to grow, both in the UK and internationally.

“Working with FW Capital has been an incredibly positive experience and as well as their support during the investment process, we have benefited from a wealth of experience and advice. The FW Capital team feel like a welcome addition to our own.”

Keith Charlton, Senior Investment Executive, at FW Capital, said: “In more than 26 years of operations, Phusion has proven that its solutions are successful and can be used by a number of different industries, including the energy, process, infrastructure, automation and utility sectors.

“Phusion’s strong track record across the entire energy sector allows it to leverage the knowledge gained from that industry in to others and provides an excellent opportunity for growth.

“We are delighted to invest in a world-leading company such as Phusion and wish them every success for the future. We are also very grateful to Inveniam Corporate Finance, which helped facilitate the investment.”

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said: “I am delighted that Phusion, a fantastic example of a dedicated, long-standing Tees Valley business, is able to go from strength to strength thanks to this funding. This is yet another story of our money in the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund helping our brilliant businesses to grow.”

Mark Wilcockson, Senior Manager at British Business Bank, said: “We’re keen to support international businesses such as Phusion, as the performance of these firms overseas can put the UK in a stronger position. With this investment, Phusion is targeting growth on a global scale, and we’re pleased to support Alex and the team’s ambitions.”

Lee Humble, Corporate Finance Director at Iveniam Corporate Finance, added: “Phusion is an excellent business with a great management team who have reacted well to a changing and competitive climate. This investment capital will help them realise their expansion ambitions.”

Operating from the British Business Bank’s Sheffield head office, the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund provides a mix of debt and equity funding (£25,000 to £2m).  It works alongside ten Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs), the combined authorities and Growth Hubs, as well as local accountants, fund managers and banks, to support Northern-based SMEs at all stages of their development.

The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund project is supported financially by the European Union using funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020 and the European Investment Bank.

FW Capital Limited is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority as a small authorised UK Alternative Investment Fund Manager under firm reference number 506719

Editors Notes