BANK of Scotland Integrated Finance has invested £80 million in an Aberdeen-based subsea company to enable the business to "fast-track" its expansion plans.
In a deal valued at £143m in total, the bank will provide new banking facilities for Integrated Subsea Services (ISS).
These will include refinancing existing debt, and taking an equity stake in the business, which is forecast to reach £150m tu
rnover in three years.
Established in 2002, ISS provides specialist diving, remotely operated vehicle (ROV) and survey services for subsea oil and gas operations.
Founders Ian Herd and Bruce Webster, who remain majority shareholders, said yesterday that they were committed to "an ambitious growth strategy" which includes further internationalisation and capital investment.
Webster said: "This cash injection will enable us to speed up our planned investment in people and training and in our ROV fleet so that we can capitalise on the international opportunities available.
"This year we have rolled out a £20m capital expenditure programme which included the purchase of eight remotely operated vehicles capable of operating in ultra-deep water to service global demand for our underwater contracting services as well as a significant recruitment drive which resulted in 60 experienced ROV operators and trainees joining the business."
Ritchie Clark, director of Bank of Scotland Integrated Finance said: "ISS is a market-leading business operating in one of the fastest growing sub sectors of the oil and gas industry.
"Management have delivered exceptional growth over the last five years and this transaction represents an excellent opportunity for us to deliver an innovative debt and equity funding package that will provide the management team with a platform to accelerate their growth plans."
The full article contains 286 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
