Eagle Eye Innovations, a provider of drone training, operating and consulting services, has secured investment from private equity investor LDC to support its expansion plans.
Headquartered in Lincoln and founded in 2013, EEI provides a variety of services to organisations requiring skilled, regulatory-compliant drone operators across multiple sectors including the built environment, utilities, infrastructure, agriculture, logistics, media, security and defence.
It also offers a comprehensive service to assist clients with UK Specific Operations Risk Assessment (SORA) applications, ensuring compliant drone operations in an increasingly complex regulatory environment.
EEI has scaled rapidly, meeting market demand for regulatory compliant drone operators, securing multi-year contracts with major clients and now employs more than 60 people.
LDC is backing EEI’s management team, led by founder and CEO Siôn Roberts, COO Dom Smith and CCO Alex Kasperczyk, as they expand the business in the UK and internationally, and continue to deliver industry leading drone services across all genres and classifications of drone technology.
The investment was led by LDC’s East Midlands and East of England team, including investment director Kevin O’Loughlin, partner and head of East Midlands and East of England, David Bains, and origination executive Hannah Hutchinson.
Rob Clarke, previously CEO of CTC Aviation, will join as non-executive chairman, bringing extensive experience in commercial pilot operations and aviation operations consultancy, and Sir Chris Harper will remain on the board as non-executive director.
O’Loughlin and Bains will also join the board.
“Over the past decade, we’ve built a business that combines deep technical expertise with an unwavering commitment to safety and regulatory compliance,” said Roberts.
“Our team brings industry-leading discipline and safety standards to everything we do, training thousands of people and establishing ourselves as the go-to partner for organisations that need skilled, regulatory-compliant drone operators.
“This partnership with LDC gives us the backing and support we need to take EEI to the next level. The LDC team understands our sector and shares our ambition to build a business that leads the market in both technical expertise and operational excellence.”
O’Loughlin added: “Eagle Eye Innovations operates in one of the most exciting growth markets we’re seeing right now. Siôn and his team have built an exceptional business that combines technical expertise, regulatory knowledge and a culture of continuous innovation.
“It’s great to be backing a Lincoln-based business that’s become a real leader in its field. We’re looking forward to working with Siôn, Alex, Dom and the wider team to support EEI through its next phase of growth as it expands internationally and deepens its service offering.”
Meet dentist using AI to tackle children’s dental health crisis