Maven supports Glacier to acquire Professional Testing Services

Maven is pleased to announce that it has provided further finance to existing investee company Glacier Energy Services (Glacier) to support the acquisition of Professional Testing Services Limited (PTS). The deal will see Maven, alongside co-investment partner Simmons Parallel Energy Fund (Simmons), invest an additional £3.25 million into Glacier.

Glacier was formed following the acquisition of Roberts Pipeline Machining and Wellclad from MB Aerospace in a management buyout. The business has now grown to become an internationally focused oil & gas service company with operations in Aberdeen, Glasgow, Methil and Newcastle. Since Maven first invested in the business in 2011, Glacier has continued its buy-and-build strategy having acquired a further two complementary businesses, Ross Offshore and Site Machining Services. Both companies have already been successfully integrated into the Glacier group. Maven and Simmons have continued to support the business through this exciting growth phase and have each invested over £6 million to date.

The acquisition of PTS will further broaden Glacier’s service offering, allowing the business to expand into new markets while providing it with the capacity to draw additional services from its existing customer base. Established in 1981, PTS provides a comprehensive range of inspection Non Destructive Testing (NDT) services to the oil & gas and renewable sectors. NDT encompasses a wide range of analysis techniques used to evaluate the properties of an object without causing damage. A key advantage of this type of testing is that it does not permanently alter the object being inspected, saving both on equipment downtime and the cost for users.

PTS has established an excellent reputation in both the oil & gas and renewable energy industries and has worked with many of its customers for over 15 years. The services offered by PTS are complementary to those currently provided by the trading divisions within Glacier and offer significant growth potential for the business internationally. The enlarged Glacier group is expected to generate an annual turnover of £24 million and employs over 200 people.

The market for NDT is growing as the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) is attracting substantial new investment, and oil & gas operators are placing a greater emphasis on safety and the containment of hydrocarbons following the Deepwater Horizon incident. A significant untapped market also exists for Glacier outwith the UKCS, with a forecast international offshore well-count growth of 23% between 2012 and 2017.

Jock Gardiner, Partner at Maven, said: “Glacier Energy Services is an excellent example of a successful buy-and-build strategy coming to fruition. Scott Martin and his team have, through a combination of organic growth and selective acquisitions, created a highly regarded business. We look forward to supporting Glacier in its future development.”

Scott Martin, Executive Chairman at Glacier commented: “The UKCS continues to hold significant growth potential for Glacier and acquiring PTS brings another complementary service into the group, following on from the acquisition of Ross Offshore and the continued strong performance of our offshore business.”