Paragon Bank’s SME Lending division provided TSL Contractors Ltd with a £2m facility for an Airbus H125 helicopter to support its workload.
Based in Argyll and Fife, TSL Contractors acquired the helicopter for its Skyhook Helicopters brand, which serves sectors including energy, construction, and agriculture.
The aircraft is mainly used for precision construction tasks, transporting heavy loads, and supporting remote infrastructure projects.
Skyhook Helicopters also conducts surveys with Forestry and Land Scotland and NatureScot and provides on-call firefighting services.
This acquisition marks the third helicopter in Skyhook’s fleet, enhancing TSL Contractors’ capacity and flexibility.
Alison Jones, head of aviation at Paragon SME Lending, said: “We were pleased to be able to support Andy and TSL Contractors with a funding facility for £2 million, enabling this SME business to expand its fleet of helicopters and support the construction of important infrastructure and buildings in what are often very remote areas that can be difficult to reach.
“At Paragon, we’re passionate about supporting SMEs to grow their business and this is a great example of a business that we were able to support who can now undertake more work as a result of this new asset.”
Andy Knight, managing director of TSL Contractors, said: “It was great to work with Alison and Paragon to secure this funding, it’s been a smooth process from start to finish, which was helped by Alison’s knowledge and experience of the aviation industry.
“This new aircraft will enable us to undertake more work across the whole of the UK, Ireland and the Islands to support local communities and infrastructure projects, in addition to some of the other important work we do with these aircraft, such as firefighting in the warmer seasons.”
