Six-figure investment to support growth at County Durham engineering firm

A manufacturer of precision-machined engineering parts in County Durham is set to accelerate growth with funding from HSBC.

Ashgarth Engineering, based in Consett, will use the six-figure cash boost to acquire new machinery.

The HSBC loan also enabled the company to secure a grant through the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development.

With the grant, Ashgarth invested in two new state-of-the-art CNC machining centres that allow it to fulfil larger, high-volume orders.

The firm has forecast turnover to increase 40% over the next three years thanks to the investment, which also supported the appointment of a skilled machine operator this year. Ashgarth plans to hire another machine operator next year.

Niall Ash, the company’s co-founder, said: “We always planned to grow the business through the purchase of new machinery but the financial support we’ve received means we can do this quicker than anticipated.

“The rural development fund and HSBC’s backing means we can start quoting for new work that we previously couldn’t.”

He added: “As a new business, we’re grateful for HSBC’s expert advice and confidence in our business plan.”

HSBC’s area director for the North East, David Slane, commented: “We take pride in supporting new start-ups and entrepreneurs in the North East.

“Ashgarth has a solid business plan with realistic ambitions for growth and we are delighted to be able to help accelerate its expansion plans through our funding.”

Niall set up Ashgarth in July 2017 alongside co-founder Paul Westgarth, a director at the company.

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