Energy consultant completes bolt-on acquisitions

Mark Dickinson, CEO, Inspired Energy

Inspired Energy has continued with its buy and build strategy after snapping up Businesswise Solutions and General Energy Management.

The Lancashire company has funded the acquisition from the group’s successful £31.3m placing and open offer completed in July last year.

Due to the economic uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Inspired Energy is paying an initial £6m to acquire Nelson-based  energy consultant, Businesswise, on a debt free cash free basis, to be satisfied in cash at completion.

A further £23.5m may become payable in cash if Businesswise hits growth targets in the next three years.

Businesswise turned over revenues of £3.79m and pre-tax profits of £1.15m for the year to March 2020. It has an order book of around £10m and over 340 customers.

The company has 43 staff and the management team, including its founder and CEO, will remain with the enlarged group to execute its growth strategy.

GEM provides energy assurance services to corporate customers in a range of sectors, with a strong presence in the food manufacturing and distribution sector, which has proved resilient through the COVID-19 pandemic.

It delivered revenues of £500,000 and pre-tax profit of £250,000 as at 31 March 2020.

An initial cash payment of £1.5m has been paid to the shareholders of GEM, with deferred consideration of £250,000 payable at the end of this year. A further £250,000 will be considered if GEM also achieve growth.

Mark Dickinson, CEO of Inspired Energy said: “Both acquisitions increase our market share for Energy Assurance services, broaden our customer base and significantly increase our units of opportunity.

“We look forward to working closely with the highly experienced and knowledgeable teams of both businesses and welcoming them into the Group as we continue to advance our position as a market leader.”

Ros Jones and Rebecca Smith of Dow Schofield Watts Transaction Services provided financial due diligence to Inspired for the acquisition of Businesswise Solutions.

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