Scottish Loan Fund invests £3.5 million in Oil & Gas service specialist Coretrax Technology
Aberdeen-based energy services business Coretrax Technology Limited is the latest ambitious Scottish company to benefit from the Scottish Loan Fund.
Set up in 2011 by the Scottish Investment Bank, the investment arm of Scottish Enterprise, and managed by Maven Capital Partners, the £113 million Scottish Loan Fund (SLF) provides loans of up to £5 million to ambitious Scottish businesses. Since launch the SLF has committed over £30 million in support of growth-focused companies.
Coretrax was established in 2008 and offers a wide range of downhole tools and services with applications across the well life cycle, including well bore clean-up, completion and abandonment, to the global oil & gas industry. The Coretrax suite of tools has been extremely well received by the market resulting in the business developing a good spread of blue-chip international customers as well as many of the leading North Sea operators.
The global oil & gas industry is in the midst of a period of significant investment and with the world’s resources of “easy” oil depleting, the business is benefiting from operating in a subsector which is driven by the need to extend the useful operating life of a producing oil well.
Coretrax has carved a niche in the market by being able to provide a bespoke customer solution quickly and efficiently. The flexibility of this service offering and the technical expertise held within the business have helped forge strong customer relationships.
The business has achieved year on year growth and has established an excellent reputation in the market for innovative technological solutions and impeccable customer service. Led by an experienced senior management team the business is focussed on driving further growth over the next three years. The flexible funding package from the SLF will also allow Coretrax to expand its existing Middle East operation, having already won significant contracts in Saudi Arabia.
Kieran Good, Investment Manager at Maven, said: “Coretrax is an excellent example of a high growth business which is ideally suited to take advantage of the flexible long term capital the Scottish Loan Fund can provide. Kenny and his team have a superb track record of delivering growth on the back of innovative technology and impeccable customer service and we are delighted to be on board. SLF funding has proved to be a perfect fit for what the business is trying to achieve and we are pleased to support this dynamic Scottish SME with its growth plans.”
Kenny Murray, Managing Director at Coretrax, said: “As a team we felt Maven had a real understanding of our business and recognised our aspirations for future growth. We are delighted that Maven and the SLF have committed to support Coretrax. 2013 was an immensely successful year for the company and, thanks to this investment, we look to meet and surpass targets in the coming months.”
Kerry Sharp, Head of the Scottish Investment Bank, said: “Coretrax has been working intensively with a number of areas of Scottish Enterprise to realise its ambitious growth plans, including commitment to innovation and new product development in the oil and gas sector. We are pleased to see them extending their international reach, and to have been able to support this through the Scottish Loan Fund. We look forward to what the future brings for Coretrax.”
About Maven Capital Partners UK LLP: www.mavencp.com
Maven Capital Partners UK LLP (Maven) is a small-to-mid cap private equity house focused on the provision of growth capital and mezzanine finance to SMEs across the UK. It is one of the most active private equity fund managers in the country, managing around £300 million of assets for a variety of client funds, including Venture Capital Trusts, the Scottish Loan Fund, Capital for Enterprise Fund A, the Greater Manchester Loan Fund and a number of family offices and high net worth individuals.
Headquartered in Glasgow, and with five other offices throughout the UK, Maven has nationwide coverage of the market for SME finance and is able to source a variety of deals through its regionally based investment executives. With over 40 staff and partners, Maven executes a range of private company transactions, offers hands-on proactive portfolio management to investee companies and provides a fully integrated back-office support function to client and third party fund managers.
The Maven investment team offers full UK coverage for sourcing new private company investments, with executives in key regional centres being introduced to around 400 deals per year that meet our investment criteria, through long standing relationships within the Corporate Finance community. Completing on average four to six deals each year across the UK, and deploying around £25 million in capital, Maven invests on behalf of its full range of client funds and a syndicate of Investor Partners.
About Coretrax Technology Ltd: www.coretrax.co.uk
Coretrax Technology Ltd (Coretrax) is an Aberdeen-based oilfield services firm established in April 2009 by Kenny Murray (MD) to address a gap in the well-bore cleanup and well abandonment markets.
Less than five years later, Coretrax is a successful business branching out internationally and growing at a controlled, aggressive rate. The business is already established in Europe and Africa and is now in high demand in the Middle East where contracts are continuing to flourish. In addition, Coretrax has branched out into several new market areas, including specialised well abandonment and drilling sectors, whilst still maintaining a focus on its original product line, well-bore clean-up services and fluids.
Coretrax has also implemented an in-house design team, offering bespoke solutions to often challenging down-hole conditions. Furthermore, continual in-house research and design ensures that the Coretrax range of services continues to increase, keeping Coretrax products up with the latest innovations and technology