Inprova acquires two business energy brokers

Inprova is delighted to announce that ithas bought two non-domestic energy brokers, energyTEAM and ENER-G Procurement.

energyTEAM, based in Burgess Hill, West Sussex has been purchased from its two owners for an undisclosed sum. The company has been running for nearly 40 years, helping over 800 clients such as Virgin Atlantic, Hotel du Vin Group and fashion retail chain White Stuff to find the most suitable commercial gas and electricity contracts. The firm offers a number of innovative services to help reduce clients’ energy usage and spend. energyTEAM’s 60 staff will all be employed by Inprova Group.

ENER-G Procurement, based in Studley, Warwickshire has been purchased from international renewable and sustainable energy specialist ENER-G Group for an undisclosed sum. The firm provides energy broker and bureau services such as commercial gas and electricity procurement, energy risk management and consumption measurement and analysis. The company’s 52 staff will continue to be employed by Inprova Group.

The two deals, which have been funded through a debt facility from Barclays, completed last week and come just over a year since leading mid-market private equity house LDC invested in the business to help support Inprova’s future growth plans.

Both businesses will be re-branded, forming a new, large energy broker division within Inprova. The company already provides procurement outsourcing, consultancy and technology services across the private and public sector, procuring £0.5bn worth of goods and services per year for clients in the logistics, private equity, health, local government and housing markets.

Acquiring these two energy brokers will significantly strengthen Inprova’s energy procurement offering, tripling the company’s workforce and establishing it as one of the UK’s top ten non-domestic energy Third Party Intermediaries (TPIs).

Paul Kennedy, Inprova Group Chief Executive said, "Purchasing these two energy brokers ties in with Inprova’s wider strategy of building scale and capability across new procurement markets. For many of our customers, utility spend is becoming an increasingly complex and volatile area of spend and as such, they require a greater level of support and guidance in this spend category. The integration of these two businesses into the Inprova Group will enable us to negotiate better energy prices as we’ll take a far larger aggregation of spend to market. It is also likely that there’ll be opportunities for us to deliver wider procurement related services into the enlarged customer base."

"Inprova Group will be turning over in excess of £12m per year following these two acquisitions. My aim is to at least double this figure over the next two to three years. We’ll do this through our strong customer base in existing markets, which offers significant growth opportunities and also by continuing our ambitious UK and international expansion strategy."

Bob Holt, Inprova Group Chairman commented: "I am delighted to see the business move quickly in the execution of its growth strategy. These are exciting additions to the Group that will allow us to deliver increased value to our customers."

The Group is currently in advanced discussions with a US based partner regarding the roll-out of a national procurement solution in specific vertical markets. Inprova is also looking to acquire more energy market companies as well as procurement technology businesses.

LDC investment director Richard Ibbett, who sits on the board at Inprova, said: "It takes time and careful consideration to identify the right acquisition opportunities that will not only help build scale, but add significant value to a business’ proposition. In ENER-G Procurement and energyTEAM we have found two companies that do just that. The transactions, which form a key part of our investment strategy, will pave the way for further deals as we help support Inprova’s growth ambitions in the UK and international markets."