ThinCats delivers £750,000 Growth Capital facility, enabling AnTech to reach the next level
ThinCats has completed a £750k working capital facility for fast growth manufacturing business, AnTech, the only company in the world whose services are 100% dedicated to coiled tubing drilling (CTD) for the upstream oil and gas industry. The funding from ThinCats has provided AnTech with the working capital reserves it needs to bid successfully for substantial new contracts.
Founded in 1992 and headquartered in Exeter, AnTech has a strong design heritage and offers customised and standard products across a wide range of applications. In 2012, AnTech launched its Coiled Tubing Drilling (CTD) Service Division, providing cost effective directional drilling services to customers, utilising its proprietary drilling tools and systems. The business currently has 45 employees and is growing rapidly.
AnTech approached Number Eight Business Finance, whose funding experts introduced ThinCats to the client as the best fit finance option.
Toni Miszewski, managing director at AnTech: “What we do is highly customised, you simply can’t buy from a catalogue. We have been invited to bid for large contracts in the U.S. and elsewhere and it is essential for us to be able to demonstrate that we hold a certain level of capital in the bank to be able to respond to these tenders. Following the introduction from Number Eight Business Finance, ThinCats visited us to see our operation, meet the people and gain a good understanding of our business and future plans.”
“Working with ThinCats is reminiscent of working with a bank manager years ago, when they would listen to your requirements and you could have a genuine dialogue. ThinCats respected the fact that when you are running a business you have a lot of irons in the fire and they were very responsive to our requests. With the loan delivered and the possibility of ongoing funding from ThinCats in the future, subject to our requirements, we have a strong platform from which to grow.”
David Grosse, managing director at Number Eight Business Finance said: “It is extremely important to be able to work with lenders that we believe in. We very quickly formed an opinion that ThinCats would be the best fit option for a sophisticated business looking to make a major step up. ThinCats proved to be very flexible and commercial in its approach, providing an interest only period to lessen the overhead until the commencement of the project.”
Simon Hammond, regional director of Number Eight Business Finance added: “This is a very cyclical sector and a lot of lenders would have struggled to get their heads round this deal. AnTech required the funding in advance of securing a large contract. ThinCats didn’t just replace the existing debt, they provided a greater level of funding than the existing bank facility, based on a significant step up in performance forecasts.”
Andrew Tapsell, director, regional business development at ThinCats commented: “We are proud and delighted to back a world-class business such as AnTech that represents the very best in British engineering. More than ever, businesses need a responsive approach from independent lenders that will provide the flexibility and certainty of funding support to enable them to win new orders and grow.”