Blackpool rescue training business set to scale new heights with funding injection

Blackpool based rescue training business Reax has secured a £35,000 investment from NPIF - BFS & MSIF Microfinance  – a product fund managed by GC Business Finance in partnership with MSIF and part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF).

The investment will be used to fund new jobs and a significant expansion of the company over the next five years. Run by former emergency services personnel including Pete Langley and Keith Parmley, Reax Limited is a specialist access and rescue training provider, based at an industrial simulation training facility in Blackpool.

The company was launched in 2014 by a skilled group of former and current emergency services personnel from the fire service, specialist rope rescue units, North West ambulance service paramedic teams, urban search and rescue teams and mountain rescue. With over 240 years’ operational experience between them, the Reax team now provides training to the emergency services, utility, telecoms, construction and engineering sectors, specialising in a range of confined space courses, industrial simulation, rescue training, first aid courses and equipment sales.

The £35k loan from NPIF will be used to create at least five new full-time jobs and fund Reax’s exhibition and event attendance to raise awareness of the training programmes. The funds will also be invested in further development of Reax’s training facility, which already features purpose-built areas to recreate scenarios faced working at height, in confined spaces and industrial and rescue situations.

Reax Director Pete Langley said: “Since we launched four years ago, our specialist training services have been in high demand across the North West. This funding from GC Business Finance and NPIF will enable us to develop our current facilities and to recruit more rescue and first aid and trauma trainers, ensuring that we are able to continue to expand and improve our business. “Across our growing team, we have faced every situation and danger that you might expect to encounter in challenging work and rescue situations over many years in the emergency services. This expertise means that we are able to work with and train individuals and companies – from emergency services teams to utilities companies and telecom firms - to ensure that they won’t face the dangers that we have.”

Mark Gibbons, Senior Loan Manager at GCBF, said: “Pete, Keith and their team have developed their business at an admirable pace over the past few years, growing to over 70 clients in a very short time. “When Reax was introduced to us by Prakash Patel of A2F earlier this year, they were considering a number of growth and new business prospects that required investment and expansion. By providing the £35k they needed to progress these opportunities, we were able to work with Reax to take the company to the next level, as both a service provider and a valued employer in the Lancashire area”

Sue Barnard, Senior Manager at British Business Bank, said: “Reax is a business with a unique offering and an experienced management team that can deliver excellent service. The company is in great shape, and this new line of funding will allow Reax to bolster its headcount to deal with the growing demand for its training. We’re proud to support Reax as it continues on its growth story.”

About the Northern Powerhouse Fund

The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund project is supported financially by the European Union using funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020 and the European Investment Bank. Businesses seeking further information about the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund can contact https://www.businessfinance.growthco.uk or call 0161 245 4977.

Representatives from Reax, the British Business Bank and NPIF will be talking more about the funding available and how it is helping the business to grow at the 'Show me the money' event at Blackpool Winter Gardens on 13th November (09.30 - 16.00). The event is part of Blackpool Enterprise Week 2018 (#BEW18).