Blue Sky PE injects $3 million into Australian caterer

The company, which employs 145 people at its offices in Adelaide, Brisbane and Queensland, intends to use its new funding to expand into building and renting out its own mobile camps. Its owners, Chris Hayes and Roy Eagle, hope to roll out a minimum of 10 camps over the next three years.

Oil Industry Catering approached Blue Sky about a potential deal about a year ago, when client demand was increasing for mobile camps. First it attempted unsuccessfully to secure a mortgage from the bank to finance the purchase of several transportable buildings, and then it held talks with a number of equity firms but "didn't feel comfortable with them," according to Hayes.

It decided Blue Sky struck the right balance to provide the funds, as the firm was prepared to invest on a shared risk basis rather than doing the transaction exclusively on its own terms.

Tim Wilson, head of private equity at Blue Sky Alternative Investment, told SmartCompany that the investment was signed off due to two main factors, one micro and one macro.

"Micro being that these guys are leaders in their field, they are one of the biggest outsourced providers to their target market, which is oil and gas camps," he elaborated. "Macro being that there is a very well underpinned future position in oil and gas in Australia as a result of all the oil and gas plants being built in Gladstone."

Oil Catering Services represents the latest deal realized via made through Blue Sky Private Equity's fund for Australian SMEs, which launched in 2010 and raised $30 million. The fund manager is expected to partner with up to 10 businesses for the vehicle. So far it has invested in five.

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• Topics
• Expansion
• Australasia
• Support services
• Australia
• Growth capital