BDO's Development Capital Fund is to invest €3m in the Obelisk Group, a specialist in providing services provision to the telecommunications and utilities sectors. The investment is backed by matching bank funding, and the €6m funding will be used for expansion in the telecommunications and power infrastructure sectors in the UK and South Africa.
The Obelisk Group was founded in Cavan in 1996 by Colm Murphy and Padraig Brady to serve the emerging Irish mobile telco market. The company says that since then it has delivered approximately 40% of the sector’s infrastructure. The company expanded into power infrastructure in 2008, entered the British market in 2009 and South Africa in 2010. The group employs 250 engineers and generates annual revenues exceeding €20m, with export revenues accounting for 40% of the total.
Andrew Bourg of BDO said:“The Obelisk Group is a great example of the sort of Irish companies that Development Capital Fund looks to support. It has grown profitably over a 20 year period and has built a strong reputation and team in a range of complementary markets. It is now poised for exceptional growth with strong macro-economic conditions and positive investment climates in large markets outside Ireland.”
Obelisk CEO Declan O’Neill commented: “ The global markets for telecommunications and power infrastructure are set for exponential growth, and we believe Obelisk has the expertise and experience, coupled with lots of hard work and commitment, to capture a significant part of this growth.”
Obelisk International Group Holdings Ltd has turnover of €24 million in 2014, up 15% on the previous year. The company booked an operating profit of €610,000 and after finance costs the pre-tax profit was €490,000.
In Association with
Net worth at year-end was €17.2 million, including €6.3 million of intangibles. Net borrowings reduced from €6.9 million to €2.5 million through 2014.
Obelisk has been involved in mobile 4G infrastructure upgrade, rollout of fibre broadband, renewable energy investment and rapid development in electricity transmission infrastructure in Ireland; 4G and telecommunications sector consolidation, fibre broadband, renewable energy and related transmission infrastructure in Britain; and in 4G infrastructure and renewable energy in South Africa.
Photo: Declan O'Neill (right) with BDO's Sinead Heaney and Andrew Bourg. (Pic: Jason Clarke)
