BGF sells Petrotechnics stake in trade sale to Sphera

Over the course of the GP's six-year investment period, the company, which primarily serves clients in the oil and gas sector, expanded into new regions and invested in product development.

According to publicly available documents, Petrotechnics generated an operating loss of £3.2m from a turnover of £7.1m in the year ending in March 2018, a decline on the operating profit of £29,000 from revenues of £9.3m in the year prior to BGF's investment. The business also saw its number of employees fall from 113 to 95 in the same period.

In the 18 months between June 2014 – a year after BGF's initial investment in Petrotechnics – and January 2016, the price of a barrel of Brent Crude oil dropped from $115 to less than $30. It has since recovered somewhat and stood at around $60 per barrel at the time of publication.

Previous funding
BGF invested £6m in Petrotechnics in 2013. According to the aforementioned documents, the business received further funding from BGF and CEO Phil Murray in the form of equity and loan notes in 2017.

Company
Founded in 1990, Aberdeen-headquartered Petrotechnics develops risk management software for hazardous sectors.

People
BGF – Mike Sibson, Richard Pugh (investors).
Petrotechnics – Phil Murray (CEO); Iain Mackay (chief operating officer); Alec Harcus (chief financial officer).

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• Trade sale
• BGF (Business Growth Fund)
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