CUMBRIAN businessman and former Stobart Group boss Andrew Tinkler and his business partner have masterminded a rescue package for a major national engineering and construction firm.

The entrepreneur and his former Stobart Group colleague Ben Whawell have created a £24m refinancing deal for the troubled infrastructure firm nmcn plc. It is the first major rescue challenge for the men’s firm Sevella.

The intervention will save almost 4,000 jobs.

The men’s firm Svella has taken its name is an old Nordic word, meaning to rise and flourish - precisely what it aims to achieve with nmcn.

Their declared intention is to focus on firms which have been badly impacted by the pandemic – and yet have a sound underlying business model.

A family business, similar to Eddie Stobart when Tinkler took that on in 2004, nmcn grew to become a national outfit employing about 1,700 people as well as a similar number of contractors, working mainly in the water industry telecoms and highways.

But over the last year the firm has encountered severe financial challenges.

Svella will now inject a £10m bridging loan into nmcn in the first instance followed by a further £14m of financing. Svella’s focus on firms which were in a strong position before the pandemic and have the potential to thrive again after it.

Svella’s investment give it a controlling share of nmcn – but Svella involvement is a lifeline for a firm which was on the brink of administration. The plan is to create sufficient equity to give the firm’s management a chance to trade out of the current crisis.

Tinkler has an impressive track record in business turnaround and presided over making Stobart Group one of the UK’s front-runners in infrastructure and support services.

From an initial £1m investment he and his colleagues took the company to the heights of success, with a market value in 2017 of £1bn.

Mr Whawell was credited with being a key part of the executive team that grew that investment into £1.6bn of value across two listed companies, Stobart Group and Eddie Stobart Logistics.

Ian Elliot, Non-Executive Chairman, welcomed the deal today, saying: "We are pleased to have concluded this arrangement with Svella and other stakeholders, which will fully re-capitalise the Company, providing a platform for sustainable long term value creation in our chosen markets.

“Our employees, supply chain partners and customers have shown tremendous solidarity and supported the Company during this difficult period, for which the Board are grateful. Today's announcement is a positive first step towards a brighter future."

Industry sources say the firm – currently valued at around £20m and on the brink of administration – could be worthy more than £150m in two or three years.

“They’ve been looking for a solution over the last six to eight months,” said Mr Tinkler. “This is exactly the kind of company that Svella was set up to help. We’re helping management trade out of this by investing through Svella and other shareholders to be able to save to company.

“It reminds of when we bought Eddie Stobart back in 2004.

"The important thing is that this deal is saving almost 4,000 jobs and gives the company the cash it needs to drive forward the business.”

* Mr Elliot's statement was issued via RNS, the London Stock Exchange news service.