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Nichol Associates aiming fro higher with growth funding
23 November 2011
A successful north east asbestos management firm is eyeing bigger and better contracts across the UK after investing in new equipment and expanding the range of services it provides.
Nichol Associates is now able to provide a ‘one stop shop' for all asbestos-related requirements after setting up an analytical testing service alongside its existing asbestos surveying, removal, consultancy and training operations.
The company is now fully equipped to bid for larger and longer contracts with bigger organisations, and is aiming to build on the success it has already enjoyed both within and outside the north east.
As a result, it is expecting to break through the million pound turnover barrier next year, and is also aiming to add at least eight more people to its existing 22-strong workforce over the next two years.
To help fund the company's development plans, Nichol Associates has secured a £70,000 investment from the Finance For Business North East Growth Fund, which is administered by regional fund management firm NEL Fund Managers.
The Hebburn-based business grew quickly after being set up in 2006 by experienced asbestos manager Dave Nichol, on the back of enhanced measures being introduced around the responsible management of asbestos within non-domestic premises.
The company's existing client base ranges from multi-national organisations and city councils with wide-ranging asbestos management issues, through to individuals from the health and safety, facilities management and asbestos contracting industries with a particular training need.
Dave Nichol says: "When we set up the company, we knew that the increased responsibilities that building owners faced around managing asbestos-related issues presented a clear commercial opportunity, and capitalising on this has helped us build a company that is already recognised as a leading name in its sector.
"We knew that there were bigger contracts out there that we could bid for if we enhanced the resources available to us, so looked at the different options for bringing in the investment that we needed to make this happen.
"The NEL team didn't treat us like just another set of figures - they developed a really strong grasp of our business and how it would benefit from a capital injection, and worked closely with us through the thorough investment application process.
"Our aim now is to maximise the benefits that offering every type of asbestos-related service can bring to both existing and new customers, as well as to ourselves, and to bring more contracts and jobs into the north east in the process."
Simon Johnson, senior investment executive at NEL Fund Managers, adds: "Offering proven expertise within an expanding niche market presents a powerful commercial opportunity, and this latest Growth Fund investment will enhance Nichol Associates' capacity to build on very solid foundations and achieve even better results.
"Interest in the Growth Fund continues to be very strong from firms right across the north east, proving that the difficult economic climate is doing little to diminish the commercial ambitions of businesses in our region."
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