£1.4million Funding Boost Helps Engineering Firm’s Major Expansion

A £1.4million grant signed off by the Tees Valley Mayor has helped a major engineering services company boost its production potential by buying a 58-acre manufacturing facility

Wilton Universal Group, which works in the renewable energy, defence, logistics, offshore and oil and gas sectors, has acquired the site at Haverton Hill in a multimillion-pound deal with EEW, Offshore Structures (Britain) Ltd’s parent company.

The facility, which sits alongside Wilton’s current Port Clarence base, will create a combined 112-acre site, with the potential for up to 200 new jobs at the firm, an important and admired name in the manufacture, coating and loadout of steel fabrications.

The site includes workshops, a blast and paint facility and a wet dock and will be used for projects in the clean energy sectors such as offshore wind, tidal and hydrogen, as well as a growing number defence contracts. The size of the site will also increase the firm’s logistics and storage capability.

There are further expansion opportunities on the site and, as it sits in the footprint of the Teesside Freeport, the UK’s largest freeport, it could also prove a draw for other businesses looking to relocate or grow.

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said: “This expansion is fantastic news and means that Wilton can go even further in securing work to support many of our key sectors, such as our ever-growing offshore sector.

“It’s a well-respected company which has been contributing to our region for decades and this is the latest in a long list of good news stories coming out of Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool right now.

“I’m delighted our grant could help Wilton go ahead with this game-changing expansion. Not only will it help the business grow, it will create 200 good-quality, well-paid jobs and act as a beacon for other businesses looking to invest in our Teesside Freeport, the biggest in the UK.”

Wilton Universal Group was further supported by finance from FW Capital and legal advice from Muckle LLP.

Bill Scott OBE, chief executive of Wilton Universal Group, said: “This significant expansion of our facilities will create the capacity to secure more work in key markets.  We have a strong pipeline of opportunities in the defence industry, but we are also confident that we can utilise this additional facility to deliver more complex fabricated structures for the offshore renewables sector, given the chance

“This transaction also supports the long-term sustainability of our business and the role it has to play in Teesside’s exciting industrial future.

“I want to personally thank FW Capital, the Tees Valley Mayor and Combined Authority and our advisors at Muckle LLP who have been exceptionally supportive and worked at an incredible speed to ensure we reached a successful outcome. In addition, we were pleased to come to a conclusion with the owners, EEW of Germany with whom we have enjoyed a harmonious contractual relationship with throughout their tenure on the facility and we wish them luck with their endeavours in USA.”