HERMES Infrastructure has sold its 25.6% managed interest in smart metering company Energy Assets Group Limited (‘Energy Assets’) to a consortium comprising European institutional investors and an infrastructure fund.
The realisation was completed as part of a 100% sale, alongside funds managed by Alinda Capital Partners.
Hamish de Run, Head of Hermes Infrastructure, commented on the news: “Energy Assets has delivered upon our original investment thesis, had a positive impact on ESG factors including enhanced energy efficiency in the UK, and delivered above target returns to our investors.
“Our active ownership has delivered growth in value that has been crystallised upon our exit, in particular through the continued build-out of the metering asset base and EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation), launching a high-value last-mile business segment, the completion of accretive bolt-on acquisitions, rationalisation of the business for private ownership and optimisation of the capital structure.
“We are delighted to have achieved a successful realisation for our clients.”
Hermes Infrastructure and Alinda Capital Partners acquired Energy Assets by public-to-private transaction in 2016 and have since invested further capital to support the sustainable growth of the business.
Headquartered in Livingston at Scotland, Energy Assets is the largest independent provider of industrial and commercial gas metering services in the UK by number of meters owned and managed, an owner of last-mile utility connections, and a provider of multi-utility network metering and data services.
During its investment, Hermes Infrastructure supported management to develop and monitor a range of sustainability KPIs (performance indicator), reduce carbon intensity through improved utilisation of the technical field force and establish training and modern apprenticeship programmes to provide opportunities for young people within the community.
