A Scottish firm which uses drone helicopters to carry out inspections of major energy installations has secured £1.25 million of new investment.
Livingston Cyberhawk Innovations will use the cash, jointly put up by Scottish Equity Partners (SEP) and the Scottish Investment Bank, to accelerate the company’s growth strategy.
SSE Ventures, the investment arm of the Perth energy utility firm, led the initial investment round in Cyberhawk in 2010 with support from Scottish Enterprise.
Subsequently, SEP acquired the assets of SSE Ventures to set up the £70m Environmental Energies Fund, with SSE maintaining a significant interest in the portfolio.
Cyberhawk uses its remotely operated aerial vehicle’s (ROAV) to conduct close-range visual and thermal inspections of onshore and offshore infrastructure assets such as transmission towers, wind turbines and gas flares.
SSE decided to make its investment in the business as a result of Cyberhawk’s aerial land surveying capability which crosses the oil and gas, utilities and renewable energy sectors and which has attracted blue chip clients including Shell, ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, Total, Centrica and Statoil.
The company said the new investment package would allow it to further develop client relationships and allow it to broaden the scope of its activities into new global markets.
Chief executive Craig Roberts said the technology allowed safety and maintenance inspections to be carried out without the need for costly downtime periods.
“The new round of investment will enable Cyberhawk to invest in the people, technology and product development required to consolidate our position in the market and drive global growth,” he said.
“We anticipate that we will double our headcount in the next year and see further growth in subsequent years.
“Technical leadership and product development continue to be core elements of our strategy to develop disruptive asset inspection solutions that deliver significant benefits to our customers.”
Scottish Equity Partners lead negotiator Tony Robison said Cyberhawk made an attractive investment proposition.
He said: “The management team has a strong track record, a growing pipeline of opportunities and has built a trusted brand. It is operating in an exciting global market and SEP is pleased to be able to support the company’s growth plans.”
Scottish Investment Bank head Kerry Sharp said: “Cyberhawk perfectly illustrates Scotland’s reputation for engineering excellence and inventiveness and shows how these strengths can create jobs and export opportunities.
“Cyberhawk is creating a new global market for the commercial use of ROAVs in the energy industry in which Scotland can become world leader.”