Helideck Certification Agency (HCA), an authority on the safe and compliant operation of onshore, offshore and afloat helicopter landing areas, has selected Shawbrook Bank as its new finance partner.

Aberdeen-based HCA was looking to refinance existing facilities including a legacy acquisition finance loan from 2014.

Shawbrook has recently expanded its range of funding facilities to include a senior cashflow product. Alongside its established complex asset-based lending (ABL) proposition, Shawbrook can now offer event-based finance to businesses with either a solid asset base or those with few assets but strong cashflows that can be leveraged.

Alex Knight (pictured), managing director of Helideck Certification Agency, said: “Our goal was to find a lender that could understand our business, the dynamics of the sector and what we are trying to achieve over the next few years, and Shawbrook did exactly that. In the end, the team at Shawbrook delivered exactly what they committed to and communication throughout the process was excellent.”

Shawbrook was introduced to the funding opportunity with HCA – responsible for the inspection and certification of more than 700 helidecks globally including 300 across UK and Norwegian waters – by Alderburn Finance Ltd, a Scottish-based independent specialist finance broker.

Neil Davidson, managing director at Alderburn, said: “We believe this is a great deal for all parties involved.

“Alex is an excellent CEO and knows the sector inside out and we are delighted that a real specialist lending provider in the form of Shawbrook has supported them.

“The team at Shawbrook have managed this case excellently, specifically in their understanding of HCA’s business, the communication levels they maintained with the client throughout as well as in the efficiency of the information gathering, credit assessment and speed of processes.”

David Cayzer, director at Shawbrook Bank, added: “This was an excellent funding project to be involved in and being able to play such a central part was a real pleasure.

“Since it was formally launched, our new commercial loan proposition has proven to be a great fit for organisations such as HCA. Alongside our established asset-based lending proposition, we’re now able to cater for a huge breadth of businesses looking to fund the next major event in their own evolution.

“We welcome HCA to our growing portfolio of clients.”