SSE reacquires contracting firm from private equity group

Energy group SSE has bought back its former contracting arm, now known as Enerveo and based in Birmingham.

It’s reaquired Enerveo from Aurelius Group, three years after selling it to the investment firm for £27.5m.

In a statement, SEE said: “Enerveo has found it challenging to operate as an independent business.”

“Following the repurchase, SSE will now work with Enerveo management to conduct a review to develop and then implement a longer-term strategy for each part of the business”.

SSE sold the £257m turnover business, then known as SSE Contracting, in June 2021.

Since the sale and rebrand to Enerveo, it has been consistently loss-making, with its latest accounts for the year ending March 2023 revealing a pre-tax loss of £10.2m on revenue of £256.7m.

Legacy projects in non-core industries alongside a £14.6m separation cost from SSE were the cause of losses, alongside a £6.7m redundancy and legal cost as Enerveo cut staff headcount by more than a fifth to 1,440.

Directors had said that Enerveo had achieved a “break-even position within the final quarter of FY23” and expected a profitable 2023/24.