WEMSinternational agrees £13m private equity deal
ENERGY management specialist WEMSinternational has sold a majority stake to a London private equity firm in a £13m deal.
The Stockport-based firm, which has around 80 staff and sales of £12m, makes and installs wireless energy management systems.
Private equity fund manager WHEB Partners has bought into the business along with Hermes GPE through the Hermes GPE Environmental Innovation Fund.
The deal gives an exit to Steve Dillon, who co-founded the firm in 1990 with Joe Blower, and former Styles & Wood chief Ivan McKeever.
Mr McKeever joined WEMS last year to drive growth and attract investment. He now plans to pursue “similar roles with other organisations”.
Hr said: “WEMS is a fantastic business with a great product and a great team. With the fresh investment brought to it by WHEB, the business is now well positioned to build on the foundation we have put in place over the past two years.”
Mr Blower, technical director, said: “The combination of our proven technology with the networks and expertise offered by WHEB make this an exciting growth inflection point for WEMS.
“We are experiencing strong demand here in the UK and there are clearly international opportunities too.”
Rickitt Mitchell and Pannone advised WEMS. Other advisers on the deal were: SJ Berwin, CIL, BDO, Coller IP and Continuum.
