Advantos Acquisition & Refinance

Will Alternative Lenders be more expensive

Company Overview

Advantos HVAC Group is made up of companies that specialise in mechanical, electrical, plumbing and facilities management (“FM”) offering independent solutions or fully joined up services.

The group is constantly growing and diversifying, led by experienced sector experts and building a strong platform for further growth.

The sector in which they operate is extremely fragmented, with lots of small firms that lack the ability to scale without investment. Advantos can provide the support required while empowering management teams and key senior staff, ensuring the businesses maintain the loyalty of customers while providing a broader service.

Deal Overview

Advantos was looking to acquire their fourth business, United Facilities Management, which would add greater FM capability to the Group and bring turnover to more than £22m per annum.

Management engaged Fresh Thinking Advisory to help the business raise funding for the acquisition and secure a supportive partner for future growth, as they closed on their target of £150m turnover within 10 years.

The team recognised that a true partner who was aligned to their growth would provide significant value beyond many of the mainstream offerings.

Funding Solution

Recognising that any lender is a key investor in a business, Advantos chose an alternative lender with a pragmatic and collaborative approach.

Frontier Development Capital (“FDC”) is a well established debt fund that specialises in offering flexible terms to support business growth, and was therefore able to structure its debt package in a way that ensured the strategic aims of both the lender and borrower were aligned.

Having assessed a number of potential funding options Advantos chose FDC, after building a strong rapport with the senior team through the fundraise process, recognising a genuine understanding of the strategy and the support for future acquisitions.

FTA helped Advantos assess a range of options, both financially and non-financially, to ensure they fully understood the package they were putting in place and the partner they were taking investment from.

Amount Raised: £3,250,000

Company Name: Advantos HVAC Group Ltd

Lender: Frontier Development Capital

Funding Purpose: Acquisition & Refinance

“Advantos has grown in a steady and considered way to become a diversified and profitable Group, as they continue to push for their long term growth targets a supportive and flexible lender can provide significant benefits, not just in financial terms but also by ensuring that management distraction is kept to a minimum and the level of confidence in ability to acquire and grow is high. FDC will support the business on the next phase of its growth journey and impressed with their knowledge of the market and pragmatic approach.”

Oliver Reece, MD of Fresh Thinking Advisory commented

Get In Touch Today

Set your next project in motion