AN ELECTRICAL company which helps light up the House of Commons is likely to take turnover to £10 million over the next five years. Following deregulation of the electricity industry 10-years ago, Dartford-based High Maintenance Services Limited (HVMS Ltd) was formed to provide a complete, cost-effective service to users of high-voltage distribution systems.

The company has grown from three to 50 employees and with a turnover last year of £2.2 million, has ambitious expansion plans and is on course to achieve a 15 per cent increase in growth. HVMS Ltd recently secured a contract with Seeboard in the South of England and is now looking to expand its franchise operation and acquisitions after Bank of Scotland Business Banking provided a £750,000 borrowing facility.

Managing director Roger Pierce said: "The opportunities within the industry are astounding. However, our ambitions were being hampered by a lack of financial understanding. Unfortunately, as a service industry it's difficult to see the effects of the work we carry out, so we had to use factoring for finance and this worked fine until the business really started taking off."

He said: "The factoring company was reluctant to provide the amount of funding we required and couldn't respond quickly enough. Not only this, but it was also proving very costly."

Roger's accountant, Adam Merrett of Wilkins Kennedy, introduced him to Andrew Craddock at Bank of Scotland Business Banking. Andrew, together with corporate planning consultant Paul Gosling, devised a tailored funding package that would help HVMS move forward by taking over the existing loan and providing additional funding through an overdraft facility.

Roger said: "Bank of Scotland not only developed an understanding of our situation and took a pro-active approach to our needs, but also demonstrated great flexibility.

Andrew Craddock, associate director - New Business for Bank of Scotland Business Banking, said: "When Adam and Roger approached us looking for financial assistance, we took a close look at HVMS Ltd's situation and future plans, enabling us to develop a package which suited their needs. We are confident the products and services we can offer will be of huge benefit to the company and help them achieve their future growth plans."