Inspired Energy gobbles up SystemsLink and ECM

Energy procurement consultant Inspired Energy has completed the acquisitions of SystemsLink 2000 and Energy Cost Management, it announced on Thursday.

The AIM-traded company described SystemsLink as a supplier of energy management software, enabling customers to effectively monitor and manage their utilities consumption.

It said SystemsLink's energy management platform ‘Energy Manager’ was licensed to public and private sector energy users, energy consultancies and third party intermediaries.

Inspired had been a licensee of Energy Manager since its initial public offering in 2011, to support its service offering and energy management needs of the core corporate division.

The board said the acquisition brought that capability in-house, providing security of access.

Consideration totalling £3.88m was to be satisfied in cash and shares.

The other acquired business, ECM, was described as a niche operator of water and energy management services, specialising in water engineering solutions.

ECM provided a range of water management services to corporate customers, including water procurement, bill validation, retrospective audit of water bills, leak detection and repair and compliance services, which would reportedly broaden Inspired's service offering within its core corporate division.

The company is based in Kirkham, Lancashire, close to Inspired's head office, facilitating an easier integration into the group.

Consideration would be satisfied by an initial cash payment of £0.5m to the shareholders of ECM, with a potential further deferred consideration of up to £1.5m, to be satisfied by up to £1m of cash and the issue of up to £0.5m of new ordinary shares in the group.

Inspired’s board said both acquisitions broadened the service offering and customer base of the company’s core corporate division, with the acquisitions financed from its existing financial resources, with funding provided by a drawdown of its existing £12.5m acquisition facility with Santander.

Both acquisitions were expected to be earnings-enhancing in the 2018 financial year.

“We are delighted to conclude the acquisitions of SystemsLink and ECM, which are highly complementary additions to Inspired's core corporate division,” said Inspired CEO Mark Dickinson.

“These acquisitions broaden our customer base and further enhance our sector specialisms and service offering.

“We look forward to working closely with the highly experienced and knowledgeable teams of both businesses and welcoming them into our core corporate division as we continue to advance our position as a market leader.”