Renewable energy firm completes £5m acquisition
Renewable energy firm Good Energy has acquired a solar installation business for £4m.
The Wiltshire energy business announced this morning it has acquired Wessex EcoEnergy on a debt free, cash free basis.
The deal builds on its acquisition of Igloo Works in December 2022, and represents a further milestone in delivering on Good Energy’s strategy to expand its capability in decentralised energy services, complementing its established energy supply business and heat pump installation capability.
Having established itself as a solar installer since acquiring Igloo Works, this transaction takes Good Energy’s solar installation capabilities to the next level.
The UK solar market has seen near record levels of growth through 2022 as energy prices remained high.
Wessex will report under Good Energy services division and continue to operate under its own brand.
It has a strong brand predominantly covering the South West of England and it completed 155 installs in 2022.
Following the acquisition Good Energy will be targeting 600 panel installations per month within 18 months.
Good Energy has acquired 100 per cent of Wessex’s issued share capital for an initial consideration of £2.5m, payable in cash on completio. Deferred consideration of up to £1.5m is payable in cash by Good Energy dependent on the achievement of certain financial and non-financial milestones, over an 18-month transition period to 31 December 2024.
Wessex EcoEnergy was founded in 2014 by Daniel Cole and Martin Hawkins, who are the majority shareholders. Both will remain with the business on completion.
Nigel Pocklington, chief executive of Good Energy, said: “Good Energy is fast becoming the UK’s go-to all-in-one solar service company. We have the second largest solar generating customer base, paid out a record amount for solar power last year and have launched market leading smart export tariffs. Bringing Wessex into the business accelerates our solar and storage installations business, as the solar surge which saw installs grow 125% in 2022 continues.
“Not only does Wessex ECOEnergy’s purpose align with Good Energy’s, its premium, trusted positioning in the South West aligns with Good Energy too.
“There is a £5 to £10bn growth opportunity in clean energy technology installations among climate conscious consumers. With our trusted legacy and green-motivated existing customer base we are positioned to be a major player in this, and are already kitting out homes with heat pumps, solar and batteries. Now we’re supercharging our solar services.”
Good Energy also released a trading update for the first six months of the year.
The business has performed more strongly than planned in the first five months of the year. Profit in the first half will be higher than expected driven by falling and less volatile wholesale commodity costs. As expected, the second half will be loss making given the interplay between hedged prices of power and gas and current falling market prices.
Cash and restricted deposits at the end of May increased to £38m following the strong profit performance and the timing of customer support receipts under the Government support schemes.
