Double growth for ambitious electrical specialist

A company specialising in electrical inspection and testing for the construction industry has doubled its turnover after Finance Yorkshire investment sparked its growth.

Group Management Electrical Surveys (GMES), based in Elland, Halifax, employs 16 people and is on target to achieve £1.2m turnover this year.

A £50,000 Business Loan from Finance Yorkshire in 2014 provided Managing Director Steve Cressey with the working capital to grow GMES after he led a management buyout a year earlier.

Steve said: “The Business Loan from Finance Yorkshire allowed us to start growing the business and take it in our own direction. We have been successful because we used to do only electrical inspection and testing but over the last two years we have added more services and as a result increased our client base by more than 50 per cent.”

Thermal imaging surveys, calibration of test equipment, electrical validation surveys and the production of operation and maintenance manuals are among the additional services GMES is now able to offer customers.

Steve said: “The operation and maintenance manuals now account for 15 per cent of our business. We had the vision to take the business on and grow it by adding more services and we plan to add even more next year.”

GMES works for clients on major construction projects in the UK and wider Europe. The company provided its services in the multi-million pound development of South Glasgow University Hospital – the second largest hospital in the world.

Finance Yorkshire’s John Ellis, said: “Steve and his team had the ambition and foresight to take on GMES, with our investment providing a kick start to its growth. The successful addition of more services has seen the company achieve rapid growth and with it the ability to take on larger contracts in the construction industry.”

To date, Finance Yorkshire has invested over £105 million in Yorkshire and Humber, enabling companies to increase their turnover by £377 million and attract a further £273 million from private sector sources. Through this activity, Finance Yorkshire investment has helped those SMEs to create and safeguard more than 12,000 jobs in the region.

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 the European Investment Bank. Finance Yorkshire is also supported by the Regional Growth Fund.

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