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Tech firm Olsen Actuators & Drives plans 'significant growth' after securing £700k investment through Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund

2025-04-18 11:24:51 By

Laura Rees of FW Capital, right, with Ian Walch, MD of Olsen Actuators, Cheshire

A Cheshire tech firm whose products are being used in prototype flying taxis is planning “significant growth” after securing a £700,000 investment.

Olsen Actuators & Drives, of Daresbury and Runcorn, was founded in 2004 by mechanical and manufacturing engineer Piers Olsen and today supplies high performance advanced electro-mechanical systems to sectors including aerospace, defence and robotics.

Its custom projects have included developing manned primary flight controls for aircraft – including for the prototype VX4 Vertical Aerospace fully electric air taxi.

Now it has secured a £700,000 investment through NPIF II – FW Capital Debt Finance, which is managed by FW Capital as part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II

The company says the investment will help it to fulfil a number of new contracts “with blue chip names”, and will also help to create six jobs.

Ian Walch, managing director at Olsen Actuators & Drives said: “The NPIF II funding from FW Capital is helping us to fulfil a significant number of new contracts, expand our engineering team and invest in key research and development projects. Areas where we’re seeing the biggest growth include custom solutions for aerospace, subsea, defence, and marine markets.

“The increased demand for our actuator solutions is seeing us work directly with some global blue-chip names and prime contractors. The aero market, particularly the eVTOL (electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing) and heavy lift drone market, continues to be a rapidly expanding sector for Olsen and one where we are seeing great opportunities. We’re excited for the future and this investment will be instrumental in supporting our future growth and has enabled us to add six new roles to our team.”

Laura Rees, senior investment executive at FW Capital said: “Olsen Actuators & Drives operate in a niche market, bringing a high level of expertise and innovation. The projects they are working on are impressive and we’re delighted to provide funding to support this work. It’s also another great example of how NPIF II funding is helping to drive growth in the local economy with the creation of new jobs as a result of their new business wins.”

Sue Barnard, senior manager at the British Business Bank, said: “There has been increased investment in electric vehicles over recent years as businesses look for ways to swiftly move to a more sustainable way of working. This is a great example of a business that is environmentally focused, which aligns well with the NPIF II objectives, and it’s exciting to see a Northern business using NPIF II to unlock their next stage of growth in the region.”

As part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II, FW Capital will provide debt finance options from £100,000 to £2million to businesses based in the North West.

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Mid Wales DNA tech testing firm boosted with equity investment

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Coding school to create new edtech jobs in Birmingham

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UK fintech funding races ahead of Europe as sector looks for 2025 rebound

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Newcastle property firm iamproperty to create 100 jobs over coming months

A major recruitment drive has been opened up by Newcastle's iamproperty as it plans to create 100 jobs over the next 18 months. The Gosforth-based provider of technology for online property auctions says it will initially focus the expansion on its residential conveyancing arm, Medway Law. It is part of a move to capitalise on continued rises in auction transactions. To begin with, 20 roles are being advertised across its conveyancing and business support services. In February and March, more than 20 roles will be available for auction specialists. Bosses say the move comes on the back of demand for iamproperty's auction solution driven by buyers and sellers looking for fast sales ahead of the Stamp Duty Land Tax deadline in April. That is when the threshold band on residential properties will reduce from £250,000 to £125,000. Iamproperty, which employs 700 people, is said to be the UK's largest online residential auctioneer and reports that the number of properties sold by auction was up by 28% in December last year, compared with the year before and bidding activity was up 64%. The firm says that auctions can offer 56-day completion timescales from receipt of draft contracts, based on a standard property. Ben Ridgway, co-founder at iamproperty, said: "We’re pleased to be expanding our 150-strong team within Medway Law with these new legal roles. We know some redundancies were faced in the industry before Christmas and are keen to hear from people with experience who want to be part of modernising the property market and driving innovation. "We’re committed to making the moving process better, faster, and more secure for everyone involved, and we’re in it for the long term. We’re looking forward to welcoming successful candidates who share our vision. "The market conditions mean that auction is helping support buyers with quick sales to make Stamp Duty savings and is the current focus of our recruitment efforts. However, we will be creating opportunities in multiple areas of the business as we continue to realise our ecosystem vision to drive real change in the property market." Plans to increase headcount at iamproperty follow several years of the growth, including 2023's investment from private equity backer Perwyn in a deal believed to have topped £100m. Iamproperty was founded by Jamie Cooke and Ben Ridgway in 2009 as they spotted a gap in the market for a property auction service that benefited estate agents and buyers.

Google faces UK antitrust probe in crackdown on Big Tech dominance

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has initiated an investigation into Google to determine if its search and advertising services are producing fair outcomes within the UK. Today, the watchdog declared the commencement of its inaugural "strategic market status designation investigation" under the new Strategic Market Status (SMS) regime that came into effect on 1 January this year, as reported by City AM. The inquiry will scrutinise the effects of Google’s services on UK consumers and businesses, including publishers, search engine rivals, and advertisers. With Google's search services commanding over 90 per cent of search queries in the UK, the CMA emphasised the importance of ensuring these services benefit both businesses and consumers. "Millions of people and businesses across the UK rely on Google’s search and advertising services – with 90 per cent of searches happening on their platform and more than 200,000 UK businesses advertising there," said Sarah Cardell, CMA Chief Executive. "That’s why it’s so important to ensure these services are delivering good outcomes for people and businesses and that there is a level playing field, especially as AI has the potential to transform search services." The investigation aims to guarantee that individuals enjoy access to diverse services and full control over their data, while also fostering innovative services and preventing biased content, according to the CMA. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in the UK is set to initiate a probe with the objective of maintaining competitive advertisement costs, reducing consumer prices, and affording emerging enterprises an opportunity to vie with established tech entities. The CMA has indicated its intent to conclude the inquiry within approximately nine months. "It’s our job to ensure people get the full benefit of choice and innovation in search services and get a fair deal – for example in how their data is collected and stored," said Cardell. "And for businesses, whether you are a rival search engine, an advertiser or a news organisation, we want to ensure there is a level playing field for all businesses, large and small, to succeed." This investigation is part of a wider effort to rein in big tech firms, as signified by Google's 2024 court defeat in the US over claims that it unlawfully sustained its internet search monopoly.

Tyneside tech firm Leighton moves to new city centre offices

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Dyson to move workforce out of Bristol and scrap tech hub plans

Engineering giant Dyson is planning to move its workforce out of Bristol and is scrapping plans for a tech and research hub in the city - despite investing £100m in a new building. The company, best known for its bagless vacuum cleaners, will relocate 180 staff to its large campus in Wiltshire. It will mean all of Dyson's South West employees are based in one location. Dyson's Malmesbury base is home to the Dyson Institute, where 185 undergraduate and postgraduate engineers study while working for the company. The move comes despite a major investment by Dyson into a previously planned research and development hub in Bristol. The company, which currently rents office space on College Green, purchased and carried out a top-to-bottom refurbishment of 1 Georges Square in Finzels Reach last year. The £100m Bristol research centre, first announced in 2023, was expected to employ hundreds of extra AI and software engineers as well as the global tech firm’s commercial and e-commerce teams for Great Britain and Ireland. It is understood that Dyson staff will no longer move into the building, but will relocate to Malmesbury instead. The Finzels Reach office block, which is owned by the Dyson family, will be rented out to another employer. Although no date has been set for the relocation to Wiltshire, Business Live understands it will be in spring when the lease on Dyson's rented office expires. Staff members will be given support with the commute to Malmesbury, about 45-minutes' drive away. The news comes less than a year after Dyson announced plans to cut a third of its UK workforce as part of global restructuring. Dyson's chief executive Hanno Kirner said last year the review would ensure the business was "prepared for the future". The campus at Malmesbury was Dyson's head office until 2019 when founder Sir James Dyson moved the company's HQ from the UK to Singapore. The billionaire tycoon has long been a critic of the UK's economic policies and made the decision post-Brexit to move Dyson's headquarters closer to its manufacturing sites and supply chains. Asia also has a free trade agreement with the European Union. Last year, Sir James and his family were revealed to be the richest people in the West of England despite experiencing a fall in their wealth of £2.2bn over the year. According to the Sunday Time Rich List, Britain’s best-known inventor had a fortune of £20.8bn in 2024 - down from £23bn in 2023.

Newcastle lab grown leather specialist BSF secures £50,000 funding to begin manufacturing

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County Durham firm braves Dragons' Den in bid to secure investment

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2025 predictions for Apple, Amazon, Meta, Tesla and other tech titans - what to expect

The 'Magnificent Seven' tech giants, namely Apple, Nvidia, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, Meta and Tesla, saw a combined growth of 63 per cent in 2024, building on the strong performance of 2023. Deutsche Bank disclosed that these companies generated more profit in 2024 than most national stock markets, as reported by City AM. However, JP Morgan has predicted a decline in their contribution to S&P 500 earnings growth from 75 to 33 per cent in the coming year, indicating potential challenges. Will they maintain their market dominance this year? Here's an analysis of their prospects for 2025: Apple, a much-loved brand, reported robust sales in 2024, with its privacy features and ecosystem retaining customer loyalty. However, service growth fell short of expectations, and innovation in hardware seemed subdued. Susannah Streeter, Head of Money and Markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, suggests that the company's focus on AI could steer it in a new direction in 2025. Despite a five per cent cumulative revenue growth over the past three years, the consensus is for seven per cent growth in 2025, keeping expectations high. However, its stock has only risen 41 per cent over the past three years, underperforming the 51 per cent increase in the information technology index. Microsoft, meanwhile, cemented its place at the heart of the AI revolution in 2024, with Azure revenue up by 34 per cent, as per Streeter. The integration of AI tools like Copilot across its software suite has impressed analysts. In the forthcoming year, cloud computing competition and increased regulatory scrutiny could challenge its growth trajectory, yet the discontinuation of Windows 10 support might trigger an upgrade cycle, according to Dan Niles, founder of AlphaOne Capital Partners. He recently expressed on LinkedIn that the termination of Windows 10 "could also lead to some upgrades in their core PC business while a ramp in AI PC demand is a hope for some point in the future". Amazon's Cloud AWS remained a key growth driver in 2024, with a 19 per cent revenue increase as global AI adoption soared. E-commerce margins saw a rebound following the company's cost-reduction strategies. Streeter noted, "margins have recovered after the huge cost-saving drive with worldwide layoffs." Amazon may emerge as the top performer for 2025, having surpassed both revenue and margin expectations in the latest quarter. However, Nile pointed out the potential for a challenging start to 2025 due to uncertain consumer spending patterns, fewer shopping days, and less favourably timed holidays. For Meta, the tech behemoth's strategic downsizing yielded positive results in 2024, evidenced by a five per cent increase in daily active users. Its investment in AI has improved ad targeting and content curation, bolstering advertiser trust. Yet, the question remains whether Meta can maintain its growth momentum into 2025 without the previous year's tailwinds from political elections or major events like the Olympics, which had contributed to heightened user engagement. "If its revenue doesn’t keep up", warned Streeter, "margins may come under pressure, deterring its investors". Alphabet, the parent company of Google, also posted strong results in 2024, driven by its cloud business and AI advancements. However, the ongoing case by the US Department of Justice against Google’s search monopoly casts a shadow over the firm’s 2025 outlook. Sundar Pichai, the Chief Executive, highlighted the importance of utilising AI to accelerate progress and solve real-world problems. The company made headlines towards the end of 2024, as Pichai prepared his employees for an important, "pivotal" year ahead, while also alerting them to potential challenges. Tesla begins to lose momentum. Tesla experienced a surge of optimism in 2024, with its stock increasing by 63 per cent, partially due to Elon Musk’s advisory role in the Trump administration. However, a decrease in EV demand and the potential loss of tax credits in 2025 could impact the company’s sales. Therefore, Tesla's ability to scale production of its affordable electric vehicles and expand self-driving capabilities will be crucial for 2025. Nvidia was largely the leader of the Magnificent Seven group in 2024, overtaking Apple as the world’s most valuable company with its shares rising by 171 per cent amid surging AI demand. Despite taking a slight hit at the end of 2024, according to Investopedia, the firm’s sales and earnings flourished. Moreover, Nvidia's Blackwell super chip and dominance in AI infrastructure are positioned for continued growth in 2025.