Energy broker sold in £10m deal
WEST YORKSHIRE energy broker Orchard Energy is to be plugged into a major player after being bought in a deal worth up to £10m.
Asset and energy support services group Lakehouse will add Orchard’s 78 staff to its own workforce of more than 1,300 people.
Elland-based Orchard, which was founded by Gareth and Rachel Henderson in 2004, has been bought for £7m cash with an additional £3m dependent on the financial performance of the company to September 2017. Its most recent results, for the year to August 2014, showed a pre-tax profit of £880,000 on sales of £4.99m.
Orchard provides energy, waste and IT management services from its five offices, which also include Glasgow, Bristol, Newcastle and Northampton.
Once integrated, Orchard will further expand Lakehouse’s energy services division’s nationwide offering. Its management team will stay with the business.
Stuart Black, executive chairman of Lakehouse, said: “Following our successful initial public offering earlier this year, this acquisition further endorses our strategy of acquiring and integrating businesses which expand our service offering and geographical reach. Orchard’s strong client base, excellent relationships with utilities firms and market-leading customer service open up new opportunities for growth in the energy services market.”
Gareth Henderson was advised by Ian Marwood at Sentio Partners and Lester Wilson at DWF.
