Acquisition of Empower Energy

Good Energy Group PLC

28 October 2024

 

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION FOR THE PURPOSES OF THE MARKET ABUSE REGULATION (REGULATION (EU) NO 596/2014), AS IT FORMS PART OF DOMESTIC LAW IN THE UNITED KINGDOM BY VIRTUE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (WITHDRAWAL) ACT 2018 AND THE EUROPEAN UNION (WITHDRAWAL AGREEMENT) ACT 2020.  UPON THE PUBLICATION OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT VIA A REGULATORY INFORMATION SERVICE, THIS INFORMATION IS NOW CONSIDERED TO BE IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN.

Good Energy Group PLC

("Good Energy" or "the Group")

Acquisition of Empower Energy for up to £8.0 million

Good Energy Group PLC (AIM: GOOD), the 100% renewable electricity supplier and energy services provider, is delighted to announce that it has entered into a conditional binding agreement to acquire Empower Energy Limited ("Empower"), a commercial focused solar installation company (the "Acquisition") with nationwide installation capabilities. The Board expects the Acquisition, coupled with the acquisition of Amelio Enterprises Limited ("Amelio") on 4 October 2024, to be substantially earnings enhancing in FY25 and beyond.

This is the fifth acquisition Good Energy has made in the past two years, and the fourth in solar installation services. The combination of Empower, the recently-acquired Lincolnshire based Amelio, and Good Energy's existing solar installation capability across the south, represent a major step towards completing Good Energy's strategic objectives in the solar installation market.

The Acquisition has enabled Good Energy to continue to scale its commercial installation capacity. Empower, alongside Amelio, materially accelerate the Group's progress in developing its services proposition to become the dominant contributor to profits and will make a material contribution to the Group's earnings from 2025 onwards.

Transaction highlights:

·    Good Energy will acquire 100% of the issued share capital of Empower on a debt-free, cash-free, basis for an initial consideration of £7.0 million. The initial consideration will be satisfied by a payment of £6.25 million in cash upon completion, and through the allotment of 254,237 new ordinary shares of 5 pence each in Good Energy at a price of 295 pence per share (the "Consideration Shares"). The Consideration Shares will be retained by the vendors and will be subject to a twelve-month lock-up period and a further 12 month orderly marketing period.

·   Further deferred consideration of £1.0 million is payable in cash in January 2026, subject to certain retention arrangements relating to Ryan McShea, Founder and Managing Director of Empower.

·    For the financial year ended 31 August 2024 Empower reports unaudited revenue of £10.1 million and profit before tax of £1.8 million.

·    Ryan McShea will join Good Energy as part of the Acquisition to support the growth and integration of Empower into the Group.

·    Able to service clients nationwide, but with a particular focus on its core territory of Hampshire and the South of England, Empower will significantly increase the commercial business footprint of Good Energy's installation capability.

·   The Acquisition will be funded from Good Energy's existing resources whilst retaining a healthy cash balance to support the continued organic growth of the Group.

An application was made to the London Stock Exchange plc for the admission of the Consideration Shares to trading on AIM ("Admission"). Admission is expected to take place on 29 October 2024. Following Admission, the Company will have 18,506,399 Ordinary Shares in issue. There are no shares held in treasury. Therefore, the Company hereby confirms that the total number of voting rights in the Company will, following Admission, be 18,506,399. This figure may be used by shareholders as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in, the Company under the FCA's Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules.

Nigel Pocklington, CEO of Good Energy, commented:

"Businesses are increasingly recognising that the commercial rationale for installing solar is strong, even before you consider the associated benefits of carbon reduction. With energy costs remaining high, businesses and organisations with rooftop real estate can achieve excellent returns on investment.

"Good Energy is already providing high quality, consultative commercial solar installation services to customers in the South, and through Empower joining the Group we are stepping this up further. Offering commercial solar installation backed by 15 years of experience nationwide, Empower accelerates Good Energy's solar service offering.

"As the fourth solar acquisition Good Energy has made in 18 months and the second in only weeks, we have rapidly scaled our service coverage and capability. We will now be focussed on integrating these businesses under the Good Energy brand, leveraging our increased operational scale and vertical integration to provide a cohesive experience for commercial customers looking to cut their energy bills and their carbon through installing solar."

Announcement authorised for release by Nigel Pocklington.

Enquiries
Good Energy Group PLC
Nigel Pocklington, Chief Executive Ian McKee, Head of Communications	Email: [e-mail]
SEC Newgate UK
Elisabeth Cowell / Molly Gretton	Tel: [phone] Email: [e-mail]
Canaccord Genuity Limited (Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker)
Henry Fitzgerald-O'Connor / Harry Rees	Tel: [phone]
Panmure Liberum Limited (Joint Broker)
Edward Mansfield / William King / Josh Moss	Tel: [phone]

About Good Energy www.goodenergy.co.uk

Good Energy is a supplier of 100% renewable power and an innovator in energy services. It has long term power purchase agreements with a community of more than 2,500 independent UK generators.

Since it was founded 25 years ago, the Company has been at the forefront of the charge towards a cleaner, distributed energy system. Its mission is to power a cleaner, greener world and make it simple to generate, share, store, use and travel by clean power.  Its ambition is to support one million homes and businesses to cut carbon from their energy and transport used by 2025.

Good Energy is recognised as a leader in this market, through its B Corp accreditation, Which? Eco Provider status and Gold Standard Uswitch Green Tariff accreditation for its standard tariff.

 

END