Argent Energy unveils £7m expansion plans

A CHEMICALS firm that turns cooking oil into “bio-diesel” for bus operators, including Stagecoach, has secured a £7 million funding package to fuel its expansion.

Motherwell-based Argent Energy Group, which has been producing the diesel since 2005, signed the deal with Royal Bank of Scotland.

The firm, which previously banked with Lloyds, said it wanted a “more local business relationship” with its lender.

Some £3m from the deal is being supplied by Lombard, RBS’s asset financing division, and will be used to buy a machine that will turn animal fat recovered from waste water into bio-diesel.

About 15 jobs will be created as part of the expansion, which will take the firm’s headcount up to 75 staff.

Jim Walker, managing director of Argent, said: “We have ambitious growth plans and felt we needed a bank we could build a good relationship with and that has a strong local presence.

“We have been able to agree a package that is tailored to our needs and will help us to achieve our strategic objectives.”

Jim McIntyre, regional director at RBS Corporate & Institutional Banking, added: “This was a fantastic opportunity for us to help an ambitious Scottish company and we are delighted to be given the chance to do so.”

The firm – founded in 2001 – was sold in 2009 to a consortium that includes Stagecoach founders Sir Brian Souter and his sister, Ann Gloag.