Fylde energy firm back on the acquisition trail

An expanding Fylde energy procurement business has snapped up a neighbour for a price which could rise to more than £4m
Managing director Janet Thornton at Inspired Energy in Kirkham.Managing director Janet Thornton at Inspired Energy in Kirkham.
Managing director Janet Thornton at Inspired Energy in Kirkham.

Kirkham-based Inspired Energy has bought Informed Business Solutions for an initial outlay of £1.75m and the issue of 3,545,596 new ordinary shares.

The price could rise beyond that first £2.25m with an extra £2m in four tranches.

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Last year Inspired bought Wholesale Power UK and STC Energy and Carbon Holdings as part of a diversification plan and its corporate order book now stands at £28.8m.

Informed is based at St Georges Court and since 2003 has been offering energy and telecoms procurement services to a variety of companies, particularly in multi-site retail and leisure.

It counts Booths and Pets at Home among its clients and in its last financial statement had a turnover of £1.7m and pre-tax profits of 0.7m.

The directors have agreed to stay on with the new group for at least 12 months as part of the deal.

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Inspired Energy said the Acquisition will complement its core Corporate Division and further extend the Group’s sector specialism. In addition, Informed’s environmental consultancy services division will broaden the Group’s overall service offering to corporates.

Janet Thornton, CEO and founder of Inspired Energy said: “We are delighted to conclude the acquisition of Informed which is a highly complementary addition to the Group’s core corporate division.

“The Acquisition broadens our customer base, further enhances our sector specialisms and strengthens our service offering within environmental consultancy.

“We look forward to working closely with the highly experienced and knowledgeable team of Informed and welcoming them into our core Corporate Division as we seek to advance our position as a market leader.”

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Inspired’s latest financial results showed the company made a pre-tax profit of £3.31m up 44 per cent and revenues up by 56 per cent to £10.16m in the six months to the end of June.

The latest acquisition has been funded from the group’s existing financial resources, with funding provided by Santander within the pre-arranged acquisition facility of £3.5m; and expected to be earnings enhancing in FY17.

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