Environmental sustainability is high on the agenda for Barnsley firm Andel Ltd, after making a significant investment to make its operations greener as it focuses on future growth.
The Dodworth-headquartered firm has secured a second round of financial backing from NPIF – FW Capital Debt Finance, which is managed by FW Capital and is part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment. The six-figure investment is supporting Andel’s growth strategy which includes its journey to net zero. It has introduced several green initiatives, including replacing its fleet of vehicles with electric cars, installing EV chargers at its head office for all staff, reducing its fossil fuel derived gas and electricity usage by 100%, and creating a wildflower meadow at its head office.
Founded in 1992, Andel has steadily grown to become one of the global market leaders in the design, development and application of specialist leak detection, water sustainability, flood defence and environmental protection systems. Based in Barnsley, Andel has operatives throughout the UK and subsidiaries in The Netherlands and Romania.
Mark Harris, Commercial Director at Andel said: “In 2020 we made a pledge to become Net Zero by 2025 and we’re well on our way to achieving this. Andel has gained an enviable reputation in our field for innovation and cutting-edge research and development. We’d like to compliment this by showing how important environmental sustainability is to us and do what we can to reduce energy consumption and waste. Throughout our journey we have been supported by Lindsey McMenamin and the team at FW Capital who have understood our ambitions and provided funding to help with the growth of the business. Sustainability is a key part of Andel, but with it comes short-term challenges and costs. The support from FW Capital has helped enormously, giving us a degree of financial flexibility, and allowing us to focus our efforts on future proving the business.”
Lindsey McMenamin, Portfolio Manager at FW Capital added: “Andel has made some important and impressive changes to their business. They have demonstrated a strong environmental commitment and I’m pleased to support them on their journey to becoming net zero. Being able to work with businesses like Andel who are championing green operations is extremely rewarding and is aligned with NPIF and FW Capital’s ongoing commitment to investment in sustainable businesses in the regions it operates. Their efforts have also been recognised recently at the Barnsley and Rotherham Business Awards 2023 where they won the Sustainability Award.”
The current NPIF investment phase has now completed with the British Business Bank launching the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II in March 2024.
The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund project is supported financially by the European Union using funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020 and the European Investment Bank.
