London based energy efficiency group, powerPerfector, has been acquired out of administration by Intrinsic Equity, the investment vehicle for Birmingham based Orbis Partners.
Geoff Rowley and Alastair Massey from FRP Advisory were appointed Administrators of powerPerfector Group Limited, powerPerfector Limited and powerPerfector Services Limited on 28th July 2015, and sold the trade and assets of the powerPerfector group to an unconnected newly formed company on the same day. The new company is named intelligent Energy Saving Company Ltd (“iESCo”) but will continue to use the powerPerfector brand name.
The business has been recapitalised with a substantial investment and will also benefit from more flexible working capital facilities from Shawbrook Bank. The existing management team will be enhanced by additional strategic, financial and management expertise from the Intrinsic Equity team.
powerPerfector introduced Voltage Power Optimisation to the UK in 2004 and has been at the forefront of the voltage optimisation market. The technology is employed by some of the biggest names in energy and climate change. They include the energy regulator (Ofgem), the government’s climate change department (DECC), the UK’s main electricity distributor (National Grid), the UK’s biggest retailer (Tesco), the UK’s environmental guardians (Environment Agency), as well as 160 local authorities and 20 government agencies.
At its peak, the group turned over £30m, generated £9m profit and employed 100 people. However, the group suffered cash flow difficulties as a result of significant restructuring costs in 2014 and the replacement of the previous management team. The business lost over £6.3m in 2014.
James Grenfell, Principal at Intrinsic Equity commented “iESCo has a strong commercial rationale delivering unique value added energy efficiency products with proven savings to its extensive client base. This investment enables the launch of new services and products that will provide clients with intelligent energy savings solutions focused on efficiency and electrical supply resilience.”
Geoff Rowley, partner at FRP Advisory, commented on the sale. “We have been engaged to sell the business which attracted several interested parties. Ultimately, this transaction provides the best outcome for creditors and employees who transferred to the new business.”
