Scottish maker of modular defence and drone shelters secures £940,000 growth boost
“Europe is entering a sustained period of investment in defence capability, infrastructure and readiness” – Andrew Vincent, CEO
A Stirling-based developer of modular defence shelters has secured a funding boost of almost £1 million as it looks to expand across key European markets.
The equity investment into Quickblock was led by Equity Gap, the University of Strathclyde and Scottish Enterprise, with additional grant funding provided by both Scottish Enterprise and Innovate UK specifically for research and development (R&D) into rapid deployment shelter systems. The funding round totals £940,000.
The investment will accelerate the firm’s expansion across strategic European markets, strengthen its commercial capability and increase production capacity to meet growing demand in the humanitarian aid, security and military sectors. It comes as European governments continue to strengthen military capability and resilience.
The company is behind a modular building system manufactured from 100 per cent recycled polypropylene. Its flat-pack, interlocking blocks enable the rapid construction of reconfigurable training environments for military and police. The structures can help protect people from ballistic, blast and drone attack.
Over the past three years, the firm has established a growing track record with defence customers in the UK and overseas. It has successfully delivered contracts with the UK Ministry of Defence, the German Bundeswehr and the Indian army.
Andrew Vincent, chief executive of Quickblock, said: “This funding marks an important milestone in Quickblock’s growth journey and is a strong endorsement of both our technology and our strategy of growth in Europe.
“Europe is entering a sustained period of investment in defence capability, infrastructure and readiness. Our mission is ultimately to provide protection for people, to help armed forces deploy infrastructure faster, more efficiently and more sustainably - whether for military training, force protection or humanitarian aid support.”
“We’re delighted to have the continued support of Equity Gap, the University of Strathclyde and Scottish Enterprise as investors and are grateful for the continued support of Innovate UK,” he added. “Their backing will enable us to accelerate our growth, strengthen our presence across Europe and continue to innovate our product offering providing new solutions that meet the evolving needs of defence and security.”
Fraser Lusty, managing director of Equity Gap, said: “Equity Gap has supported Quickblock since 2021, developing its technology and product suite in conjunction with UK and overseas militaries.
“Against the current background of increased global defence spending, Quickblock is now uniquely positioned to build on this and provide rapidly deployable solutions as flexible, realistic training environments or protective infrastructure to save lives and assets during operations.
“Equity Gap is proud to continue to support the team’s expansion and scale-up in the growing defence and humanitarian sectors.”
Anne Henderson, head of Investment at Strathclyde Inspire, part of the University of Strathclyde, said: “We’ve been proud to support Quickblock from an early stage and it has been fantastic to see Andrew and the team build such strong momentum. Their determination and ambition have helped grow the business, expand its customer base and establish a clear international growth strategy.”
The company said it would continue to focus on supporting military training, force protection and operational infrastructure requirements while expanding its international footprint.
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