F1 parts supplier motors ahead with £3.25m funding

A company that makes carbon fibre and fibre glass components for major automotive companies – including Formula 1 teams – has secured a £3.25 million lending facility. K.S. Composites, in Old Dalby, near Melton Mowbray, has secured the funding from Praetura Commercial Finance as it looks to expand into new territories and sectors.

The Leicestershire-based company supplies Formula 1 teams with structural and non-structural carbon fibre components including chassis parts and body panels. It is also a key supplier to supercar manufacturers and automotive original parts manufacturers (OEMs).

It is using the funding from Manchester-based Praetura –which provides loan facilities to SMEs across the UK – to expand into new areas of the luxury market, mainly in the US.

Overseas it will focus on the production of fibre glass and carbon components for luxury hotels and super yachts and expand into new sectors including defence, where there is an increasing demand for sophisticated carbon fibre components.

The business recently secured a civil engineering contract with Network Rail, using its innovative materials to construct more sustainable composite footbridges.

K.S. Composites, which has doubled its revenue over the last two years, has also set up its own composite training school, with 30 newcomers to the industry having successfully completed the course.

The majority have now taken up full-time positions with the company at its 48,000 sq ft base near Melton, and are playing their part to cut the sector’s reliance on offshore contractors.

Jamie Smith, managing director of K.S. Composites, said: “Since the business started in 1985, our remit has grown to new sectors and territories, drawing on our reputation as the UK’s leading fabricator, renovator and repairer of glass reinforced plastic body work.

“Since then, the company has continued to evolve each year, and we are looking forward to evolving again with the help of Praetura Commercial Finance, who have really bought into our plans and vision.”

Stuart Bates, commercial director at Praetura Commercial Finance, said: “You need only look at some of the standout names on K.S. Composites’ customer list to know that this is a truly great British manufacturing business. From the get-go, we were inspired by the business’s story and heritage but also its plans going forward, which shows just how far the business has come since the days of only specialising in car parts.”