Knight Warner secure investment for growth

Chesterfield’s Knight Warner have secured a significant investment package from a consortium of investors.

Investment comes from North West and Yorkshire venture capitalists, Enterprise Ventures; Nottingham’s Turning Point Angel Investors; and the company’s management team.

Knight Warner will use the funds to embark on a growth programme, spurred by a recent £1.1m export order Melbourne-based Icon Equipment International to mark robotic bottle handling and control equipment for two large dairies in Australia.

The specialists in industrial automation have also just completed a multi-million pound project installing a plant for global packaging manufacturer, Nampak.

Kevin Parkin, the former chief executive at Davy Markham who joined Knight Warner earlier this year as Managing Director, is investing in the business alongside its founding shareholders Dave Knight, the Commercial Director and Colin Powell, Technical Director.

Kevin said: “This investment will launch the company on its next stage of rapid growth and ensure that we are able to invest in resources to meet our strategic objectives. The continuous development of our skills base, together with the penetration of new international markets, are key to achieving our future objectives.”

Dave Knight added: “This new investment in the business will give it the boost that our team deserves, after driving through the recession with our technical expertise at the fore. We can now look at further ground-breaking developments in terms of R&D activity, which will be led by our Technical Director Colin Powell.”

Paul Betts, who led the investment for Enterprise Ventures, said: “Knight Warner is currently experiencing record levels of orders as a result of earlier significant investment in its patented technology and its development facility in Wyboston. This new funding round will allow the company to build its infrastructure, invest in new products and pursue its strategy of becoming the UK’s leading handling solution provider and a major international player.”

Tom Mawhood of Turning Point added: “An investment in Knight Warner is right in the sweet spot of the investors I work with – this is a manufacturing business with excellent technical and design facilities in the heart of the East Midlands with market leading products and solutions exportable across the world. The strong management team has provided great confidence in the ability of the business to deliver on its growth prospects.”

Sheffield-based dealmakers Castle Square Corporate Finance and the legal team at the Sheffield office of Freeth Cartwright advised the management team on all aspects of the transaction.

Kevan Shaw, Director at Castle Square Corporate Finance, said: “Knight Warner is a great advert for manufacturing in the region, being a good example of what can be achieved by providing design-led bespoke solutions to assist its clients. We are delighted to have assisted them in this fundraising.”

Adrian Hackett, Partner at Freeth Cartwright, added: “This is a great example of how institutional and private money can be structured tax efficiently to help grow a world-class technology business. It was a pleasure to work with everyone on this project.”

Patrick Curtis at Laytons provided legal advice, and Ian Robinson from MaxAim carried out financial due diligence on behalf of Enterprise Ventures and Turning Point.