Inprova in double energy swoop
INPROVA Group, the new name of Warrington company CEL Procurement, has made a two acquisitions in the energy market.
The procurement outsourcing services group, which is backed by private equity firm LDC, has bought energy brokers energyTEAM and ENER-G Procurement – part of the Salford-based ENER-G Group.
Financial terms of the acquisitions were not disclosed, but Improva said the deals would boost its turnover to more than £12m this year – a figure it plans to double in three years with more acquisitions and international partnerships.
The two deals, which have been funded through a debt facility from Barclays, come just over a year since LDC invested.
Both businesses will be re-branded and will create a sizeable energy broker division within Inprova. The company already provides procurement outsourcing, consultancy and technology services across the private and public sector, procuring £0.5bn worth of goods and services per year for clients in the logistics, private equity, health, local government and housing markets.
The acquisituions more than triple the group’s workforce to 150 and also establish it as the UK’s top 10 non-domestic energy third party intermediaries.
Paul Kennedy, Inprova Group chief executive said: “Purchasing these two energy brokers ties in with Inprova’s wider strategy of building scale and capability across new procurement markets. For many of our customers, utility spend is becoming an increasingly complex and volatile area of spend and as such, they require a greater level of support and guidance.#
“The integration of these two businesses into the Inprova Group will enable us to negotiate better energy prices as we’ll take a far larger aggregation of spend to market. It is also likely that there’ll be opportunities for us to deliver wider procurement related services into the enlarged customer base.”
He added: “Inprova Group will be turning over in excess of £12m per year following these two acquisitions. My aim is to at least double this figure over the next two to three years. We’ll do this through our strong customer base in existing markets, which offers significant growth opportunities and also by continuing our ambitious UK and international expansion strategy.”
Bob Holt, the recently appointed chairman of Inprova, added: “I am delighted to see the business move quickly in the execution of its growth strategy. These are exciting additions to the group that will allow us to deliver increased value to our customers.”
Inprova said it is on advanced discussions with a US based partner regarding the roll-out of a national procurement solution there.
energyTEAM has 60 staff and is based in Burgess Hill, West Sussex. It was set up nearly 40 years ago and has more than 800 clients such as Virgin Atlantic, Hotel du Vin Group and retailer White Stuff to find the most suitable commercial gas and electricity contracts.
ENER-G Procurement, based in Studley, Warwickshire has been purchased from Salford-based international renewable and sustainable energy specialist ENER-G Group. It has 52 staff and provides energy broker and bureau services such as commercial gas and electricity procurement, energy risk management and consumption measurement and analysis.
LDC investment director Richard Ibbett, who sits on the board at Inprova, said: “The transactions, which form a key part of our investment strategy, will pave the way for further deals as we help support Inprova’s growth ambitions in the UK and international markets.”
