Finance Yorkshire invests £1.1 million in Hull business

Left to right: Mark de Villamar-Roberts of Envirodoor and Ian Brown of Finance Yorkshire

An international manufacturer and supplier of specialist industrial and hygienic doors has secured a second major investment from Finance Yorkshire, taking the total amount invested by the regional funding body in Envirodoor to more than £1.1 million.

The £550,000 Equity Linked investment in the Hull-based business follows an initial £600,000 funding package made in October 2012.

Envirodoor, headed by Mark de-Villamar Roberts, has established itself as one of Europe’s leading specialist door companies. Its key market sectors include food, automotive, pharmaceutical, marine and energy.

The second tranche of finance from Finance Yorkshire will be invested across the de-Villamar Group which last year saw major expansion with the acquisition of two companies – SCF (Hull) Ltd, a specialist steel fabrication business and Dividers Folding Partitions Ltd, manufacturers and suppliers of internal sliding and folding partitions.

Mark de-Villamar Roberts said: “I am delighted with the second investment from Finance Yorkshire and I believe that the continued appetite from Finance Yorkshire to support our Group speaks volumes about how our business has grown and developed over the last two years.”

Finance Yorkshire’s funding package will support investment in materials and marketing for the newly-acquired Dividers Folding Partitions business, improving stocks and parts for the Group’s maintenance division to enable it to deliver quicker response times to its customers. Mark added: “We will also be investing in our Group’s IT infrastructure, marketing and new premises in East Yorkshire which will house a new steel factory for SCF (Hull) Ltd and new offices for both Envirodoor and SCF.”

For 2015, the de-Villamar Group is forecasting growth for Envirodoor in the Middle East and Far East, while there is export potential for Dividers Folding Partitions in the Middle East and SCF (Hull) Ltd in the US.

Finance Yorkshire Chief Executive Alex McWhirter said: “Our equity investments in Envirodoor have been substantial and have enabled the business to develop and achieve sustained growth in its established markets as well as seek new contracts in the Middle East and the US. Envirodoor is a huge success story and a prime example of how our investments make the difference. The investments in Envirodoor illustrate the long-term relationship that we build up with those companies where we’ve provided finance to help achive growth and maximise the impact for the business.”

Finance Yorkshire Portfolio Manager Ian Brown said: “With Mark at the helm, the Envirodoor business has continued to perform extremely well across the UK and Europe. The acquisitions he has made have created a strong group of businesses which have impressive potential going into 2015 and beyond and we are confident the group will capitalise as a whole on the market opportunities.”

Finance Yorkshire provides seedcorn, loan and equity linked investments, ranging from £15,000 to £2m to help a range of small and medium sized businesses to meet their funding requirements for growth and development.

The project is supported financially by the European Union. It has attracted investment from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of Europe’s support for the region’s economic development through the Yorkshire and Humber ERDF Programme, UK Government and match funding from the European Investment Bank.

For more information about Finance Yorkshire, please visit www.finance-yorkshire.com or call 0300 030 6060.

Note: this news article is from Finance Yorkshire’s previous fund. Read more about Finance Yorkshire