Hercules Site Services PLC (AIM:HERC) CEO Brusk Korkmaz talked with Proactive about the company's recent £8 million fundraise and its strategic plans for growth.
The capital raised will help strengthen the company’s balance sheet and provide funds for future acquisitions.
Korkmaz discussed the company's first successful acquisition, a 60% stake in Future Build Recruitment, which has expanded Hercules' footprint in the white-collar recruitment sector.
Here’s the interview:
Proactive: I'm joined by Hercules Site Services CEO Brusk Korkmaz. Brusk, very good to speak to you again. Could you explain why you went through the fundraise?
Brusk Korkmaz: Thank you, Stephen. Firstly, I'm thrilled to share that we raised £8 million to support the growth of Hercules Site Services.
The amount raised will be used to strengthen the company's balance sheet and provide funds to pursue possible acquisition opportunities in the future.
Proactive: And can you tell us more about those M&A plans?
Brusk Korkmaz: Yes, sure. We had our first successful acquisition in December last year, where we took a 60% stake in a company called Future Build Recruitment. They are a profitable, specialist white-collar recruitment company operating in the UK construction sector.
Having tested the market for opportunity in the white-collar sector through our organic growth initiatives, this deal expanded our footprint in the white-collar recruitment market by bringing a highly regarded business and team into Hercules.
It also provided us with cross-selling opportunities between the two companies.
Regarding potential future acquisition opportunities and partnership arrangements, we are progressing positively with a number of discussions and look forward to updating the market at the appropriate time.
Proactive: And can you tell us about the new appointments to the Hercules board and shareholders?
Brusk Korkmaz: Yes, sure. Martin Tedham has joined Hercules' board as a non-executive director. Martin is a great guy, and he is the majority stakeholder and owner of Wadsell Packing Limited, a specialist in global pharmaceutical supply chain support. Additionally, the company is pleased to welcome Ged Mason OBE to the Hercules share register.
Ged has been the CEO of Morson Group since January 2005. He’s a great person and very experienced in the staffing sector. Last year, he won the Mercury Hall of Fame award for his longstanding contribution to the recruitment industry.
Proactive: Brusk, what's your outlook for the future of the business?
Brusk Korkmaz: Yes, it's very exciting for us. As you are aware, there is £750 billion of committed investment in the infrastructure and construction sectors. Plus, the government recently announced 300,000 new houses to be built per year over the next five years.
So there are huge projects coming up in the water industry, nuclear energy, net-zero carbon projects, as well as in the renewable energy sectors. We believe that we are well positioned to take full advantage of these encouraging commitments.
We also believe that we will continue to grow profitably each year.
Proactive: Well, Brusk, I hope you'll keep us posted on any further developments. Thank you very much for the update.