The UK’s net zero emission ambitions cannot be realised without matching progress on the generation and distribution side by tackling the demand side of the equation through reduced domestic and business energy usage.<\/p>\n
At least that’s the argument of SMS chief executive Ian Smyth, as the smart metering company branches out beyond its core revenue driver.<\/p>\n
“If you look at the value chain, in many ways the energy transition has been solved on the generation and transmission side of things, but our net zero targets cannot be delivered by more generation and more network – and even if it could, that would be an expensive way of doing it – we can’t get there without managing the demand side of the equation,” he explains to TheBusinessDesk<\/em>.<\/p>\n “Metering’s a key part of that – it gives you the evidence – so then how do you manage that demand, we’re just at the start of this load shift, helping people and companies use technology to be smarter about energy usage, without compromising what they do.”<\/p>\n The company started in 1995 by Stephen Timoney in Glasgow as Smart Metering Systems has grown in line with the UK’s use of such tech to monitor energy use; being a key part of successive rollouts of the hardware and software by government and suppliers.<\/p>\n Timoney reportedly made north of \u00a350m from selling up the rest of his shares when US private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) bought SMS for \u00a31.3bn. The deal cleared the way for taking the business private and starting a diversification strategy that saw it acquire Horizon Energy Infrastructure (HEI) and Smart Meter Assets (SMA) in February 2025, bringing expansion into the German energy metering and UK water infrastructure markets.<\/p>\n Just last week, SMS completed the integration by rebranding SMA, HEI, Horizon Energy Ventures, Horizon Water Infrastructure and Metis as SMS, unifying its capabilities across energy, low carbon and water under one identity.<\/p>\n “Trends in the market were pulling us in different directions, so we needed a refresh of strategy and a single brand that aligned to that, so it’s not just pretty pictures,” comments Smyth, who took the top job in January this year, replacing Tim Mortlock.<\/p>\n “We’re still a metering business at the core, but the growth strategy has been to add other assets, things like distributed energy resources – batteries, solar panels, electric vehicle charging – and funding those assets to make them affordable for customers, suppliers and domestic users.<\/p>\n “We’re moving into sectors adjacent to traditional energy supply – water for instance – and also most of our customers are global, so they take us into other geographies.”<\/p>\n Smyth continues that “double digit” organic growth has taken SMS to the second largest smart meter supplier in the UK, with a full service offering including field engineers and data management services for energy groups. This has been matched by the recent acquisitive growth, backed by KKR, doubling the size of SMS and a bringing “triple digit” boost to revenue and earnings.<\/p>\n “This growth comes from seeing the meter as a gateway into an estate – housing or business – and understanding what’s happening behind the meter, that’s often invisible to energy suppliers or governments,” he adds. “That means we can offer solutions to businesses to help manage their demand better and more dynamically.”<\/p>\n SMS currently manages more than 7.5 million meters, but now has capabilities spanning field services, infrastructure, funding and long-term asset management.<\/p>\n “Metering was the starting point, not the destination, our new brand reflects the broader business SMS has become and the ambition we have for its next phase of growth,” Smyth concludes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" De-listed and backed by private equity, the Glasgow-based business is aiming to offer solutions across the energy market<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":278857,"featured_media":8035,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,120780,50204],"coauthors":[137126],"class_list":["post-7979","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news","category-sustainability","category-technology","tag-featured-story","tag-greater-glasgow"],"yoast_head":"\n