A PRECISION engineering firm in East Lancashire has been given a significant boost with a second buyout.

Bosses at Colne-based ELE Advanced Technologies say the deal with private equity investor LDC will support their growth plans.

ELE employs 133 at its plant in Cotton Tree Lane, and a further 55 at a subsidiary in Slovakia.

The deal for the firm, which makes specialist components for the likes of Rolls-Royce, Safran, Siemens and GE Power, was made with Albion Capital and Maven Capital Partners.

Last year alone the Pendle company, which supports the construction of turbine blades, vanes and compressor blades, generated £14million in revenues.

Manesh Pandya, ELE's chief executive, said: "Our precision engineering capabilities give us a unique proposition that has enabled us to grow significantly and tap into global demand for specialist components.

"With LDC's support we can accelerate our growth ambitions and seize new opportunities to increase our market share even further. Their team has a stellar track record in manufacturing and mirrored our vision for the business."

Chris Handy, LDC's investment director, added: "Manesh and his team have a wealth of experience in precision engineering, with ELE's hallmark of quality being recognised across multiple sectors worldwide.”

"Together we look forward to embarking on an exciting journey which will see the business continue to grow organically both at home and overseas, and also drive investment in its manufacturing capabilities to meet ongoing demand."