The Bayford group increase shareholding in Fulcrum following £8.5m investment

Sheffield based Fulcrum is a provider of utility services including, electric vehicle charging infrastructure, renewable energy infrastructure services and smart metering.

The new funding will be used to accelerate Fulcrum’s growth strategy and support its entry into the smart energy infrastructure market.

The Bayford Group is wholly owned by Yorkshire entrepreneur and chief executive Jonathan Turner, who has been a non executive director at Fulcrum for 18 months.

The Bayford Group also recently made a multi-million-pound investment in RAW Charging, a provider of electric vehicle charging services. It has subsequently secured contracts with Greene King, Aviva, Apcoa, and McArthur Glen to deploy thousands of electric vehicle charging stations throughout the UK. Fulcrum carried out work on many of the EV charging point installations for RAW.

A spokesman said: “As the largest shareholder in RAW, Jonathan has recently enlisted the support of David Richards CBE, currently the chairman of Motorsport UK, formerly chairman of British sports car manufacturer Aston Martin, Chairman of Prodrive, and an ex-World Rally Champion.”

Mr Turner said: “If we stand still, we will go backwards. Amid the chaos there is a lot of opportunity and there are developing markets and sectors that urgently require investment.

“It’s arguably an exciting time to be in business and the benefit of the Bayford Group is that we have a very diverse portfolio of businesses and investments built up over 100 years. Having spent 30 years working in fossil fuels it’s clear to us all that the future is elsewhere.”

He started to invest in Fulcrum in 2019 and became the largest shareholder in 2020.

He added: “I’ve been in mobility all my life, running businesses nationwide from petrol stations and aviation fuels to automotive lubricants and fuel card businesses. The future of mobility is Electric Vehicles (EV) which are a huge part of the development for Fulcrum plc. They are at the forefront of the net-zero agenda and a perfect investment for The Bayford Group’s energy interests as we continue to march forward into a greener future.”

Terry Dugdale, chief executive of Fulcrum Plc, said, "We are delighted to successfully secure this fundraise. The injection of additional funds ensures we can fully capitalise on growth opportunities in meter asset ownership as they are presented to us and provides us with a strong platform to support our ambitious growth plans.”

"The commitment from our largest shareholder is a strong endorsement of their belief in our strategy and I am excited by the potential that this funding brings to the group."

David Richards CBE said, “I’m delighted to be joining RAW Charging as my interests continue to shift towards carbon neutrality.

"RAW is helping to roll-out long-term, renewable energy, infrastructure assets which will be critical in the electric vehicle revolution and subsequent reduction of carbon emissions, which complements much of the work we are currently undertaking at Prodrive. I look forward to lending my experience to assist RAW with its rapid growth.”