Halcyon Tankers moves up a gear following £750k NPIF funding
Teesside-based haulage specialist Halcyon Tankers Ltd is celebrating a period of sustained growth with revenues topping £25m for the first time, following funding from the first Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF).
Founded in January 2019 following the acquisition of the assets of the Halcyon Tankers division from Hargreaves plc, the business was launched by Ian Elliott, Andrew Spence-Wolrich and Nigel Barraclough.
Starting with 20 trucks, Halcyon Tankers quickly grew into a large-scale business. To support this growth the team secured a £250k loan from the first NPIF in 2019, which provided vital headroom to invest in fleet growth, marketing and acquisitions.
While the pandemic disrupted parts of the sector, Halcyon Tankers remained resilient and was able to acquire assets from competitors at attractive valuations. By its third year, turnover had grown to around £5.6m.
In 2022, the business completed an acquisition of a competitor previously owned by a French group, adding a £7m-turnover operation to the group. In the same year, it also secured a significant multi-year contract with AvantiGas, one of the UK’s leading LPG suppliers, to transport LPG and aerosol propellants for large commercial customers and to support domestic delivery fleets during peak demand. The business secured a further £500k from NPIF – FW Capital Debt Finance after completing these deals to support their investment in equipment and working capital as the business continued to scale
Growth through acquisition remains key to Halcyon’s strategy and in early 2025, the company expanded further with the acquisition of another tanker business in Widnes, strengthening its national footprint and increasing market share. The business has also diversified into the transportation of petrol and diesel from UK refineries, marking a strategic expansion into adjacent markets.
Halcyon Tankers has now reached over £25m in turnover with over 200 employees, significantly supporting job creation across the UK. The company now has its sights firmly set on further growth in the tankers market through a mix of organic growth and acquisitions.
Nigel Barraclough, finance director at Halcyon Tankers Ltd, said: “The funding we received from the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund gave us the breathing space we needed to grow our business significantly over the last seven years. It allowed us to act quickly on opportunities and to build the scale needed to compete for larger contracts.
“We’re focused on growing the business even further this year, while still remaining a company where people can speak directly to the founders, even as we grow beyond 200 employees.”
Debbie Sorby, senior investment manager at the British Business Bank, said: “Halcyon Tankers is a great example of how support from the first NPIF has helped ambitious Northern businesses compete on a national stage, having increased its revenue significantly since the investment in 2019.
“Success stories like this are a great reminder of the vast talent within the North East ecosystem when given the right opportunities. NPIF II is now building on this strong track record of supporting some of the region’s most ambitious businesses, while continuing to drive regional growth and job creation.”
The British Business Bank has now launched the £660m Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II (NPIF II) which covers the entire North of England and provides loans from £25k to £2m and equity investment up to £5m to help a range of small and medium sized businesses to start up, scale up or stay ahead.
The purpose of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II is to drive sustainable economic growth by supporting innovation and creating local opportunity for new and growing businesses across the North of England. The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II will increase the supply and diversity of early-stage finance for the North’s smaller businesses, providing funds to firms that might otherwise not receive investment and help to break down barriers in access to finance