A North East sustainability consultancy is powering up growth plans on the back of a six figure investment.
McGrady Clarke Group, based in Newcastle, provides business energy management and sustainability solutions to clients around the world, helping them to reduce carbon emissions linked with their operations.
The firm, which operates across every aspect of the low carbon sector, has worked with regional fund management firm NEL Fund Managers to secure a Small Loan Fund investment, which will support development of new services. A number of new jobs are also expected to be created over the next year, as well as a move to a bigger base.
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The McGrady Clarke management team said it is also open to potential acquisitions as part of its growth strategy. Fergus McGrady, who founded the business with fellow director Theodore Clarke in 2019, says: “With the drive towards Net Zero firmly established in the national consciousness, the UK is ahead of the curve in the sectors in which we’re operating, although there is still obviously a huge amount of work to be done, and we feel that there’s no better place for us to grow from than here in the North East.
“A business’s journey to true sustainability is about much more than just box ticking. It encompasses every part of its operations, all aspects of the life cycles of its products and services and even the way in which the firms in its supply chain choose to operate.
“The detailed carbon consultancy work we do gives clients a clear, practical and individualised picture of how they can make improvements, the technologies and processes they need to do so and the environmental and cost benefits they can expect to see as a result.
“Corporate power purchase agreements, risk management and renewable technology installation are all growing areas for us, while we’re continuing to develop new services as the energy market evolves and new opportunities arise.
“The NEL team was very personable and clearly interested in our story right from the start, while the investment process was straightforward and completed pretty quickly.”
Mike Guellard, senior investment executive at NEL Fund Managers, added: “McGrady Clarke has achieved considerable success in just a few short years and has a clear growth strategy in place for building on it. Low carbon investments such as this one are a real priority for the North East Fund and we’re pleased to be adding another ambitious regional firm with this focus to our investee portfolio.”
Part of the £120m North East Fund and aimed predominantly at smaller SMEs, the £9m North East Small Loan Fund typically offers loans of between £10,000 and £100,000 to businesses in Tyne & Wear, Durham and Northumberland.
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