Inyanga Marine attracts £2M in multi-national capital raise

Cornish-based company Inyanga Marine Projects has completed a £2 million capital raise that will be used to fund further growth of its marine energy business.

The raise comprises a minority £0.8 million equity investment backed by the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Investment Fund (CIOSIF), and £1.25 million debt facilities.

The equity investment round was supported by the ERDF-funded INTERREG 2SEAS ENCORE project.

The campaign was led by The FSE Group, the appointed fund manager of CIOSIF, with investors including CIOSIF, French company SerEnMar’s Ship As A Service (SAAS) and private investors. 

Debt facilities are being provided by Cyan Finance and Lombard, according to The FSE Group.

Formed in 2017 by Richard Parkinson, Inyanga Marine Projects provides expert operations services and engineering design within the offshore renewable energy sector including tidal, offshore wind, wave and solar.

Inyanga Marine Projects consists of two companies which address separate areas within the marine sector: Inyanga Maritime, which provides offshore operations and engineering consultancy services for marine renewables developers, and Inyanga Tech which is developing its proprietary tidal energy converter dubbed the HydroWing.

The investment will be used to fund the expansion of Inyanga’s business, including the purchase of DP2 multi-purpose vessel, Inyanga Entsha, that will be based out of Falmouth.

Inyanga has a growing team of 15 professionals and is involved in some of the most ambitious offshore green energy projects including St Brieuc Offshore Windfarm, Minesto’s Holyhead and Faroe Islands tidal kite installations, and Sabella D10 tidal energy project.

Moreover, Hervé Allaire of SAAS will be joining Inyanga’s company board as the two businesses embark on a closer partnership leveraging their complementary offerings, while Martin Macey, who led the investment on behalf of The FSE Group, will be joining Inyanga as board observer.

Richard Parkinson, CEO of Inyanga, said: “Martin and the team at FSE went above and beyond to help us plan and structure the capital raise.  Their commitment was evident throughout and we are delighted with the outcome”.

Martin Macey, investment manager at FSE Group, added: “It is a privilege to work with Richard and the team at Inyanga which comprises some of the world experts in offshore renewables.  We look forward to helping scale this innovative business in such an important sector”.

Supported by the European Union, the £40 million CIOSIF provides debt and equity finance from £25,000 to £2 million to help growing small businesses across the region. It has been established by the British Business Bank in partnership with the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP).

Ken Cooper, managing director at the British Business Bank, said: “Through the British Business Bank’s regional funds we are actively supporting businesses that are contributing to the UK’s low-carbon agenda. Inyanga Marine is a great example of that and we are delighted the fund has supported this deal”.

The ENCORE project, short for Energising Coastal Regions with Offshore Renewable Energy, aims to advance four offshore renewable energy solutions both in terms of technological innovation and commercial uptake.

Inyanga is a project partner providing offshore operations expertise and engineering support to developers to de-risk onward development.