Braidwater receives further investment for expansion

Derry-based housebuilder Braidwater has secured a multimillion pound follow on investment from BGF, the UK’s most active provider of growth capital to small and mid-sized businesses.

Braidwater became the first company in Northern Ireland to receive investment from BGF in November 2015. It has been designing and building high quality two to five bed family homes across Northern Ireland, with a strong focus on design and building efficiency, for more than 40 years.

The company said the latest capital investment will be used to support the development of residential properties across multiple sites Braidwater already has in its land bank and to purchase new sites. It will break ground and begin to develop out as many as three new sites in 2018, including one in the Greater Belfast area.

Braidwater Managing Director Joe McGinnis said: “We are delighted that BGF has chosen to follow its initial investment in the company after working closely with us over the past two years. BGF’s long term approach and its input to the business has been invaluable for our development.

“The investment will help Braidwater to pursue continued growth across Northern Ireland and also to increase awareness of the business in and around Belfast. Turnover is growing, our staff numbers have increased from 12 to 46 in only a few years and the pipeline of activity for 2018 looks good.”

Patrick Graham, investor at BGF said: “Since BGF invested a little over two years ago, Braidwater has increased its turnover by a multiple of five to almost £25m. It was therefore no surprise that the company required a sizable follow on investment to enable it to continue on that growth trajectory.

“We have built a strong relationship with Joe and his team during an exciting period for Braidwater which has seen strong demand for high quality family homes continue. The team has continued to successfully develop its pipeline of land for development in Northern Ireland and we are confident that they have the expertise to deliver on those new opportunities.”

BGF was set up in 2011 to provide a new type of funding option for small and mid-sized businesses, offering both an alternative and complementary source of money to bank debt.

It initially invests between £2m and £10m and can provide additional funding to support further growth, typically backing companies with revenues of between £5m-£100m across all sectors except financial services.