A Fusion Deal: Alfa Energy sold to Edison Energy

Alfa Energy, the international energy and sustainability consultancy, has been sold to Edison Energy (DBA in Europe as Altenex Energy) a leading global energy and sustainability advisory firm. The Fusion team was led by Paul Kelly, Director at Fusion. The terms of the deals were not disclosed.

The two entities are coming together to help the world’s largest and middle-market corporate, industrial and institutional clients set and meet robust sustainability commitments and navigate the choices and opportunities that are emerging from the global transition to a net-zero future.

Based in the UK and with a Pan-European presence, Alfa Energy has worked with some of the world’s largest organizations to procure and manage their energy as they seek ways to meet their energy, sustainability, and technology needs.

Alfa Energy has been a trusted Edison Energy partner for more than seven years, creating strong relationships among the organizations’ leaders and team members through their mutual engagement with clients.

Paul Kelly, Director at Fusion Corporate Partners said: I have known Damir and Elvin for many years and watched them grow their company to become one of the few truly international energy and sustainability consultancies. It has been a pleasure to work with them and their leadership team. I wish them every success as they continue to build a global business, but now with the combined experience and expertise of Alfa Energy and Edison Energy.

“With more global clients seeking ways to decarbonize their operations, the time is right for Edison Energy to expand its platform across the Atlantic, with service to 22 European countries,” said Oded J. Rhone, CEO of Edison Energy. “During this time of turmoil in the energy markets, customers’ needs are rapidly evolving. The combined capabilities of Edison and Alfa more fully position us to help our clients set and meet their energy and sustainability commitments in a timely and thorough manner.”

As Edison Energy and Alfa Energy become one global company, its combined experience and expertise, technological capabilities and local market intelligence will allow the advisory firm to help organizations achieve their strategic, financial, and energy and sustainability goals.

“Alfa Energy has made a significant service contribution to commercial and industrial clients in the UK and Europe,” said Damir Ahmovic, Alfa Energy CEO. “By joining forces with Edison Energy – which has been our long-term partner in the delivery of services to global accounts – that dream is now a reality. A sustainability agenda demands systemic decarbonization. The enhanced deliverables of the combined company will position us to help our clients navigate their way towards a better future.’’

“Decarbonization is a strategy that must be implemented at a global scale,” said Hannah Badrei, Ph.D., Vice President of Edison’s Energy Supply Advisory. “In highly volatile commodity markets, our global clients are seeking integrated energy risk management and procurement solutions that are sustainable and resilient. The integration of our companies will help our clients achieve these goals.”

USA, Irving, CA and UK, London

Other Fusion Energy & Sustainability Deals

Inspired Energy acquires an initial 40 per cent of Ignite Energy

inspired-logo4Inspired Energy plc has acquired an initial 40 per cent share of Ignite Energy Limited

Inspired are paying an initial £5.0 million to acquire the 40 per cent on a debt free, cash free, normalised working capital basis. A further consideration of up to £3.0 million may become payable in cash, subject to the achievement of financial performance targets for the year ending 31 December 2019. The Initial Consideration has been financed from the Inspired’d existing resources, with funding provided by a drawdown of the Group’s £12.5 million acquisition facility with Santander.

Inspired has an option, until 31 July 2021, to acquire the remaining 60 per cent off Ignite Energy. Details of the option agreement are below. Inspired’s Mark Dickinson (CEO) and Paul Connor (FD) will join the board of Ignite, which will consist of five people.

Ignite provides energy management solutions to large multi-site commercial energy users. Services include energy procurement, energy efficiency and optimisation services The business began trading in 2009 and is led by David and Ben Higgins. Headquarted in Wantage, Oxfordshire, Ignite employs 51 people based across 3 locations in the UK.

For the financial year ended 31 December 2018, Ignite had revenues of £12.41 million, profit before tax of £3.08 million and generated operating cash of £1.50 million. Net assets as at 31 December 2018 stood at £4.08 million.

Mark Dickinson, CEO of Inspired said: “We are delighted to conclude our strategic investment in Ignite, a business which is highly complementary to Inspired’s core Corporate Division. The Strategic Investment significantly broadens and accelerates our optimisation service offering. Ignite has proven itself, over many years, to be capable of achieving material improvements to the energy efficiency of its clients. Inspired currently has over 500 clients within the estate and energy intensive segments who meet the Ignite customer profile, and could benefit from the services that Ignite provides.”

OPTION AGREEMENT  

·      Under the Option Agreement, from completion until 31 July 2021, Inspired has an exclusive one-way call option to acquire the outstanding balance of 60 per cent of the issued share capital of Ignite (“Remaining Ignite Shares”).

·      Under the terms of the Option Agreement, Inspired will pay consideration for the Remaining Ignite Shares which equates to an enterprise value of 6.0x earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (“EBITDA”) (“Option Consideration”). 

·      The Option Consideration shall be based off a minimum EBITDA of £3.0 million, and at the time of exercising the Option Agreement, an amount of £10.8 million will become payable by Inspired.

·      Should the EBITDA be greater than £3.0 million in either of the scenarios shown below, then additional consideration will become payable by Inspired, being the higher of:

–  6.0x Ignite’s EBITDA for the last 12 months ending on the date of the exercise of the option under the Option Agreement, or;

–  6.0x Ignite’s EBITDA for the financial year ending the year in which the option is exercised under the Option Agreement;

–  Less the £10.8 million already paid on exercise of the option, subject to a maximum EBITDA of £7.0 million.

·      Any  additional consideration due will be payable within 90 days following the end of the financial year in which the option agreement is exercised, Ignite’s financial year end is 31 December.

UK, Kirkham, Lancashire & Wantage, Oxfordshire

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The Monarch Partnership acquires EIC and T-Mac Technologies

MonarchUtilities management company The Monarch Partnership has acquired Energy Intelligence Centre (EIC) and T-Mac Technologies. EIC and T-Mac Technologies made up the corporate division of Utilitywise Plc, the energy and utilities brokerage business that went into liquidation in February 2019. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Monarch Partnership is a wholly owned subsidiary of Majestic Securities Limited, which also owns ESS Utility Consultants and Smith Bellerby. All 130 staff from EIC and T-Mac Technologies will join The Monarch Partnership. Following the acquisition, the combined group will have 250 employees and combined revenues of £20 million. In the year to March 2018, Monarch Partnership had profits after tax of £2.45 million. The Majestic Securities group had profit after tax of £2.65 million on a turnover of £6.47 million.

Utilitywise acquired EIC from Broadfern Partners in 2013. After the acquisition Utilitywise rebranded the company as Energy Intelligence Centre. It was previously called Energy Information Centre.

Fusion Corporate Partners had sold EIC to Broadfern Partners in September 2007

Acting for Euromoney Institutional Investor, Fusion Corporate Partners sold Energy Information Centre to Broadfern Partners in September 2007 for £4.7 million. EIC had been bought by Euromoney in October 2006 as part of its £22 million acquisition of metal market news service Metal Bulletin.

EIC was founded in 1975 and now supports over 1,000 industrial and commercial businesses and public sector organisations in managing their energy and water requirements. T-Mac Technologies provides energy management and intelligent buildings systems to help clients reduce and monitor their energy consumption. Both businesses will continue to trade under their existing brand identities and operate out of their headquarters in Redditch, supported by offices in Newcastle and Bury St Edmunds.

Peter Dosanjh, Chairman and CEO at The Monarch Partnership, said: “We are building a premier utility consultancy focused on helping our customers to become fully sustainable energy users. Our depth and breadth of expertise is unrivalled, and we are now working with colleagues and clients across the organisation to integrate the businesses and become the UK’s leading intelligent utilities partner. It is great to have Brin (Brin Sheridan, Managing Director of EIC and T-Mac) on board and welcome EIC and T-Mac to the Group.” 

UK, Wallington, Surrey & Redditch, Worcestershire

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Sovereign Capital Partners backs MBO of Utility Bidders

utility bidderPrivate Equity Buy & Build specialist Sovereign Capital Partners has backed the management buy-out of Utility Bidder, an energy broker, offering energy procurement services to UK, SME customers.  The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Founded in 2009, and headquartered in Corby, Utility Bidder employs around 100 staff and has a sales office in Manchester. The company currently brokers energy and other utilities contracts to over 14,500 SME clients across a number of industry sectors in the UK.

sovereignUtility Bidder has performed strongly growing sales by over 40% in the current year. The team is led by an CEO, Chris Shaw; Sovereign has augmented the management team with the appointment of Mark Wood, formerly CEO of Axa UK, as non-executive Chairman. Founders James Longley and Sally Martin remain with the business, James as Utility Bidder’s MD.

Jeremy Morgan, Partner at Sovereign, said, “We are very pleased to be supporting this business and strong management team in what is a burgeoning market. Utility Bidder has already achieved tremendous success and enjoys established relationships with both its SME customer base and its energy suppliers.  We look forward to working with Chris and the team to help take this top ranked energy broker to the next stage of growth.”

UK, London & Corby, Northamptonshire

Inspired to acquire energy procurement business Inprova Finance Limited for £19.5M

inspired-logo3Inspired, an energy procurement consultancy, has conditionally agreed to acquire Inprova Finance Limited (IFL) for £19.5 million in cash from Inprova Group Limited .

Inspired proposes to raise up to £19 million by way of a conditional placing of 115,151,516 new Ordinary Shares at 16.5 pence per Ordinary Share to finance the balance of the Consideration and associated advisory fees relating to the Acquisition.

IFL provides energy procurement and consultancy services to its help it customers buy energy efficiently and monitor and reduce their carbon footprint. The company has access to 19,000 meter points through over 1,000 customers. It operates in four main sectors – data centres, social housing, education and construction.

In the year ended 30 June 2018, IFL had revenues of £7.8 million and EBITDA of £2.9 million; at 30 June 2018, IFL’s order book stood at c.£11.6 million

Commenting on the proposed acquisition, Mark Dickinson, Chief Executive Officer of Inspired, said: “We are delighted to have agreed the acquisition of IFL and its group of energy businesses. This acquisition provides an opportunity to drive further growth from Inspired’s established platform and deliver value creation, both strategically and operationally, in addition to strengthening the Group’s position as a leading TPI in the UK and Ireland. We look forward to working with the team as we continue to accelerate our next phase of growth.”

In April 2015, Fusion completed the sale of two business to Inprova Group in two days: Two Fusion Deals in Two Days: The sale of energyTEAM and ENER-G Procurement – full story

UK, Kirkham, Lancashire & Warrington, Cheshire

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INSPIRED

Inprova Group

 

 

 

Inspired Energy acquire Squareone Enterprises

inspired-logo3Inspired Energy has acquired Squareone Enterprises Limited in a deal worth up to in a £1.375 million. Squareone is a provider of energy procurement, energy management and water procurement services with a strong presence in the education and manufacturing sectors.

Inspired are paying £0.75 million in cash, plus an earn out of up to £0.625 million based on revenue targets for the 12 month periods ending 31 March 2019 and 2020.

In financial year ending March 2018, Squareone had revenues of £0.5 million, EBITDA of £0.25 million, and generated operating cash of £0.23 million. Net assets as at 31 March 2018 stood at £0.1 million.

Commenting on the acquisitions, Mark Dickinson, CEO of Inspired Energy said: “We are delighted to conclude the acquisition of Squareone, which is a highly complementary addition to Inspired’s core Corporate Division. The Squareone team are well respected within the sector, and were deservedly recognised as such at the 2018 Energy Live Consultancy Awards. The Acquisition further enhances our customer base and strengthens our sector specialisms.”

The business is based in Boldon, Tyne and Wear, close to the head office of Churchcom Limited, a company acquired by Inspired in April 2017. Michael Harkus, co-founder and Managing Director of Squareone, will remain with the Group after completion.

UK, Kirham, Lancashire & Boldon, Tyne and Wear

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Inspired Energy acquires SystemsLink 2000 Limited and Energy Cost Management Limited

Inspired Energy has acquired SystemsLink 2000 Limited, a supplier of energy management software, in a £3.8m deal and Energy Cost Management Limited, a specialist provider of water and energy management services in a £1.5m deal.

SystemsLink is a supplier of energy management software, enabling public and private sector customers to effectively monitor and manage their utilities consumption. ECM provides a range of water management services to corporate customers, including water procurement, bill validation, retrospective audit of water bills, leak detection and repair and compliance services.

Commenting on the acquisitions, Mark Dickinson, CEO of Inspired Energy, said: “We are delighted to conclude the acquisitions of SystemsLink and ECM, which are highly complementary additions to Inspired Energy’s core Corporate Division. These acquisitions broaden our customer base and further enhance our sector specialisms and service offering.

UK, Kirkham, Lancashire & Bedford

 

 

LG Energy Group acquires Guild Energy

LG Energy Group logo smlLancashire based LG Energy Group has acquired Guild Energy, an energy procurement business based in Liverpool. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

LGE Managing Director, Asif Rizvi believes “These are exciting times for both the LGE and Guild Energy. The acquisition of Guild Energy further enhances our customer offering as the merger of SME with our current Industrial and Commercial products allows us to provide a more holistic approach to the market. The sharing of people, knowledge and systems across the companies will only strengthen the management and direction of both businesses”.

Karen Trepte remains as Managing Director of Guild Energy while Co-founder Paul Trepte becomes group risk manager within the wider Rigby Organisation, which is controlled by Simon Rigby, chairman of LG Energy Group.

UK, Blackpool & Liverpool

 

ECI Partners invests in Make It Cheaper

Private equity firm ECI Partners has acquired Make It Cheaper, a company that helps SME business customers compare and change their service providers, with a specific focus on the energy, telecoms and insurance sectors. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Make it cheaperMake It Cheaper, which has appeared three times in the Sunday Times Fast Track 100, posted turnover of £12.6 million last year and generated an operating profit of £1.62 million. The business was founded by CEO Jonathan Elliott in 2007 and now employs 175 staff.

Richard Chapman, head of business services at ECI commented, “Make It Cheaper’s motivated and experienced executive team have built a fantastic company that helps businesses save time and money. We are delighted to partner with Jonathan and the team, to help the Company scale up its customer acquisition and multi-product platform, and realise its potential for further growth.”

UK, London

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A Fusion DEAL: TEAM (Energy Auditing Agency Limited) sold to EDW Technology

TEAM EDW-TechnologyTEAM (Energy Auditing Agency Limited) has been sold to EDW Technology Holdings Limited. Fusion Corporate Partners acted as corporate advisor for TEAM. The Fusion team was led by Paul Kelly, Director at Fusion. The terms of the deals were not disclosed.

TEAM specialises in energy management – monitoring and targeting software, EDI software solutions, tenant billing software, outsourced energy management services and energy consultancy.

Founded in 1985 by Paul Martin, TEAM has over 500 Commerce, Industry and Government customers in the UK and worldwide.

paul-kelly_f_1_120_1

Paul Kelly

Speaking about the sale, Fusion’s Paul Kelly said, “It was a pleasure to represent Paul Martin and Peter Howell; and to work with their management team. They are a highly professional group with great industry expertise. Software is at the heart of the business and I am sure that with EDW’s support, TEAM’s innovative and highly scalable technology platform will unlock new opportunities in the UK and internationally. I wish them every success”.

EDW Technology has an extensive history of developing, implementing and supporting best-in-class retail electricity supply software solutions. With proven systems to support B2B electricity suppliers in the GB market EDW Technology has implemented solutions for energy retail start-ups as well as system replacements for more mature suppliers.

Simon-Miles-CEOSimon Miles, EDW Technology CEO said “We are incredibly excited about working with TEAM to grow our combined market presence and strengthen our product and service offering within the industrial and commercial utility supply and large energy consumer sector”.

TEAM founder Paul Martin, who will take up the position of non-executive director on the TEAM board said “We have built a leadership position in the UK market by consistently innovating, using our deep industry expertise to support our customers and evolve with the market. Being located in Milton Keynes, sharing the same software technologies and energy expertise makes EDW Technology a natural partner to continue the journey.”

Tim Holman, Head of Operations, Jon Lindop, Head of Development, and all other Managers will continue in their current roles.

UK, Milton Keynes

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