Lender provides Expert Tooling and Automation Ltd with a £12m facility to boost growth
Secure Trust Bank Commercial Finance has provided a £12m structured cashflow facility to Expert Tooling, a prime solution provider for bespoke tooling and automation systems.
Established in 1972, Expert provides assembly tooling, special purpose machinery and robotic automation products to the automotive, aerospace, machine tool and transport industries. The company is the UK’s largest Robotics System integrator and Automation System builder, the company has focused in recent years on emerging technologies of light weight composite body structures and battery assembly used in the production of electric and plug in hybrid vehicles.
It boasts an impressive list of blue-chip customers across the globe, which includes the likes of Jaguar Land Rover, Aston Martin and Bentley. The company has recently moved into new state-of-the-art facilities in Coventry and employs over 200 staff.
The £12m facility provided by Secure Trust Bank Commercial Finance will be used to fund both its receivables and its work in progress, allowing it to increase its working capital.
In its latest interim results, Secure Trust Bank Commercial Finance announced it had provided over £220m of funding to UK businesses in the six months to 30 June 2019. The firm offers a full suite of asset-based lending solutions to support business growth, ranging in value from £1m to £50m.
A PwC team led by Mike Denny and Michael Potter advised Expert Tooling on the refinancing.
Angelo Luciano, CEO of Expert Tooling, said: “Automation is becoming a focal point in the manufacturing industry, and as one the UK’s most prominent suppliers of automotive technology, we are set to benefit from this growth within the sector. We required a facility that would allow us to grow without the burden of insufficient working capital, and Secure Trust Bank were able to provide an imaginative structure that met our needs.”
David Parsons, regional managing director at Secure Trust Bank Commercial Finance, said: “Expert Tooling is an established business which prides itself on its longstanding history and expertise in the automation industry. This facility will not only help the company fund its current workload, but it will also grow in line with the business, ensuring that it continues to be prosperous in the future. We look forward to working with Expert Tooling going forward.”
Michael Potter from the PwC Deals Team said: “We are delighted to have advised Expert Tooling on this transaction, and the flexible structure provided by Secure Trust sets the business up well to take advantage of significant future growth opportunities”
