A Bristol-based team at FRP Corporate Finance has advised on the multimillion-pound sale of a specialist independent connection provider (ICP) to global environmental consultancy RSK Group, with a partner saying there is “strong interest” from investors in the sector.
HV Energy Systems (HVES) is National Electricity Registration Scheme-accredited and provides high-voltage grid connection infrastructure for renewable energy and energy storage projects across the UK.
Founded by engineers Craig Steven and Louis Wright, its services include detailed design and engineering, procurement, project management, construction, installation, commissioning and energisation.
Led by partner Mark Naughton and supported by Kush Kunwar and Tom White, FRP Corporate Finance acted as the lead advisers to the shareholders of HVES on the sale.
The team worked with the shareholders and management to help prepare the business for sale, identify potential buyers, including RSK Group. This was the shareholders preferred partner to take the business forward.
Leading the commercial negotiations was FRP Corporate Finance, managing the process through to a successful completion.
Steven and Wright will continue to lead the business which will be strengthened by its partnership with RSK.
For RSK, the acquisition was said to reinforce its focus on end-to-end delivery across renewables, energy storage and wider infrastructure. It also strengthens the group’s integrated service offer, while retaining HVES’s delivery-led operating model.
Mark Naughton, partner at FRP Corporate Finance, said: “It has been a pleasure to work with Craig, Louis and the management team. They have built a terrific business that has a strong reputation in their market, and we are delighted to have helped them find and negotiate a transaction with RSK who are an ideal partner for the business.
“We are witnessing strong interest from investors in the wider energy transmission and energy transition sectors at the moment from both UK and overseas corporates and private equity and expect to see a number of other transactions complete in the near future.”
Craig Steven, managing director and co-founder and Louis Wright, technical director and co-founder of HVES, added: “We are excited to be joining RSK Group. This partnership will strengthen the service and support we deliver to clients, backed by increased scale and access to a wider network.
“We are very grateful to Mark, Kush and Tom at FRP Corporate Finance in supporting us to secure this deal. Their knowledge of the sector was crucial in identifying RSK Group as an ideal buyer to take us forward and their support throughout the process was invaluable.”
Also acting as advisers on the deal were Osborne Clarke (legal, sell-side), Cortus Advisory (financial and tax due diligence), CIL (commercial diligence) and Fladgate (legal, buy-side).