Breal Capital seeks further expansion with the acquisition of Avon Steel

Secure Trust Bank Commercial Finance has provided a £2m invoice finance facility to Avon Steel, a UK stockist and supplier of steel.

Avon Steel is one of the South West’s leading providers of steel to the construction and engineering sector. The company stocks over 1,500 tonnes of steel from its head office in Bath and second depot in Plymouth. With the addition of a sales office in Cardiff, the company employs 49 members of staff.

Avon Steel is now associated with Breal Capital’s £135m revenue steel group.

The latest Industrial Strategy report, published in December 2017, outlined by the government shines a positive light on the future of the UK steel industry. It predicts that the nation’s demand for steel is set to rise to 11m tonnes a year by 2030, which could boost revenues for Britain’s steel industry by £3.8bn.

Breal Capital is looking to acquire other stockists and distributors of steel and prepare for the surge in popularity of UK steel. The £2m invoice finance facility from Secure Trust Bank Commercial Finance will support the business with these acquisitions, as well as general working capital for cashflow requirements.

Simon Parson, managing director at Avon Steel, said:

“Following Breal Capital’s acquisition in late November, we were aware that we would need a finance facility that would support the future growth of the business and provide access to much needed working capital.

“We chose to work with Secure Trust Bank Commercial Finance because of its refreshing approach to lending. The team took the time to understand the business and its requirements, and constructed a facility in a short time frame. We’re now able to set our eyes on future targets and embark on the next phase of our acquisition strategy.”

David Parsons, director at Secure Trust Bank Commercial Finance, said:

“Avon Steel is in a good position to take advantage of the steel industry’s resurgence in the coming years, with more companies likely to seek local steel over expensive imports. Having worked with Simon and the team, it was clear that the flexibility we were able to offer was of great value to the business, enabling it to restructure its balance sheet and gear up for future growth.”