Maven invests in Aberdeen-based Flexlife

Private equity investment provides growth capital funding for energy services company

Maven Capital Partners has led a £5.5m investment into Flexlife, an Aberdeen-based energy service business. In the face of significant competition for the mandate from other private equity houses, Maven has syndicated the deal with the respected energy sector fund, Simmons Parallel Energy. The new funding package will help support Flexlife through its next phase of development, allowing it to maximise revenues from existing customers, focus on the potential to develop into new markets and expand the business to take advantage of global opportunities for its products.

Flexlife provides subsea project management and integrity management solutions to the oil and gas sector. The company has developed a patented non-invasive method of ultrasonic scanning for flexible pipes, known as 'risers', that connect to the subsea infrastructure, helping to identify flooding and damage at an early stage. Flexlife has seen its market position and order book strengthen as oil and gas operators place greater emphasis on the integrity monitoring of risers which are critical to sustained field production, particularly in the wake of the BP Deepwater Horizon incident in April 2010.

The business was founded in 2007 by Stuart Mitchell and John Marsden, who along with Carl-Petter Halvorsen, have over 70 years' experience in the subsea market. The company has quickly grown organically with no external funding or bank debt into a highly profitable business with a turnover of around £5m and boasting a blue-chip customer base that includes companies such as Total, Shell, Apache and Maersk.

In recognition of Flexlife's progress since start-up, the company has received widespread industry recognition, including taking the number one spot in the recent Scottish Business Insider Sprint100 list as well as securing the top title at the Scottish Offshore Achievement Awards due to its rapid expansion both in the North Sea and Internationally.

The number of worldwide deepwater oil and gas wells is expected to steadily increase over the next five years as accessible resources onshore and in shallow water areas are diminishing, meaning an increased demand for the company's key products and services. Significant growth is forecast for Flexlife based on market penetration with the ultrasonic scanning system, as this innovative technology has created a significant barrier to entry for competitors within the sector.

Stuart Marsden, Co-founder of Flexlife said: "We are delighted to announce this investment which will have a major impact on Flexlife and help us achieve our growth aspirations. We have a reputation for our scanning technology for flexible pipes and risers that has helped our clients by giving 100% accurate results. We are now looking forward to building on that reputation with our new products that will safeguard asset integrity."

The Maven investment was led by its Aberdeen-based energy investment team of Jock Gardiner and Ewan MacKinnon.