Red Security Solutions

Partner:Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund

Region:Greater Manchester

Location:Manchester

Programme:Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund

The Company

Red Security Solutions is a mobile CCTV solutions provider based in Greater Manchester with an additional site in Scotland. The business operates in a number of sectors, including utilities, construction, commercial and transport.

The company boasts an impressive list of clients, working with global brands such as Ebay, Balfour Beatty and Allied London to provide cutting edge products, such as solar powered and 360 degree cameras.

The Deal

The business sourced £100,000 from NPIF – BFS & MSIF Microfinance, along with an additional £100,000 from NatWest. This was the first completed loan since BFS & MSIF was appointed to manage the NPIF Microfinance fund with a focus in the North West.

BFS & MSIF’s Investment Rationale

The company will use the investment to support the expansion of the business, to develop new hybrid solar powered security solutions and to create and safeguard 12 jobs. The joint funding from NPIF – BFS & MSIF Microfinance and NatWest now puts the business in a much stronger position to increase market share both in the UK and overseas.

Robert Kennedy, Managing Director of RSS, said: “Our business was already doing well but we wanted to invest and grow by implementing new technologies and services. Being able to access the funds we needed from BFS and NatWest will now put us at the forefront of cutting edge technology in our field – from solar powered and hybrid CCTV systems reducing carbon emissions for our security vehicles to plant & body worn CCTV with live video transmission for remote supervision and compliance.

“We are very proud to be one of the first companies to have been awarded access to the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund in this, the home of the industrial revolution.”

Director of BFS Paul Breen said: “RSS was originally referred to us by the Business Growth Hub’s Access to Finance service and, working in partnership with private sector partners like NatWest and the Growth Hubs, we can offer an even wider and more flexible choice of alternative finance to the region’s businesses.

“RSS is a highly innovative and ambitious company that was unable to secure the full amount of funding they needed from the bank. Our relationship with NatWest meant that we were able to partner with them to create a matched funding option with the NPIF that now enables RSS to get the financial help and the confidence they need to enable them to compete in a local, national and global marketplace.”

Mark Gibbons, Senior Loans Manager at BFS, said: “We are delighted to be able to support RSS in securing joint finance with NatWest.  Collaborating with Access 2 Finance and funding partners such as NatWest is a way we can support growth businesses to secure much needed finance to support their growth plans.  RSS already has a good name within the industry and this finance will enable them to take their business from strength to strength and compete on a nationwide platform for future tenders.

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.

For more information about Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund, please visit www.npif.co.uk.

The Merseyside Special Investment Fund Limited group of funds are managed by Alliance Fund Managers Limited which is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the course of investment business. Financial Conduct Authority Registration Number is 180891.

BFS Funding Managers Limited is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority as a Small Authorised UK AIFM under firm reference number 608682.

Editors Notes