EMEA News
UK Bunker Supplier Gets £17 million for Expansion
UK bunker supplier Sea Bunkering, a division of the Geos Group, has obtained a £17 million ($28 million) finance package from Lloyds Banking Group to fund expansion, including a new storage facility at the Port of Blyth, UK business news site Insider Media reports.
"We have experienced rapid growth and the development of the storage terminal is the next step in our strategy to further increase our performance and capacity," said Barry Newton, managing director of the Geos Group.
"When looking for a new funding partner we were drawn to Lloyds Bank because of its support of our growth strategy.
"It has introduced us to funding facilities that were previously unavailable to us and that significantly complement our activities and expansion plans."
The funding consists of a £12 million ($20 million) invoice discounting facility from Lloyds Bank Commercial Finance and a £5 million ($8 million) import loan from Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking's Thames Valley and South team.
Geos Group has said the initial phase of the Port of Blyth project consists of three storage tanks with a capacity of more than 15 million litres and is scheduled to be completed by mid-2014.
