The board of Anglian Water Group Limited (“AWG”) announced today that it has agreed the sale of its Morrison Utility Services business (“Utility Services”) to Cognetas and Englefield Capital, the independent mid-market, European private equity firms. The total consideration for the transaction is £135 million.
Utility Services is one of the UK and Eire’s leading support service providers within the electricity, gas, telecommunication and water sectors. Its service offerings are centred on the provision, replacement, repair and maintenance of utility infrastructure.
Between the years ended March 2004 and March 2007, Utility Services increased its turnover from around £250 million to nearly £500 million. Operating profit also doubled in the same period.
Jonson Cox, Group Chief Executive of the Anglian Water Group, commented: “When we first took the decision to retain the Morrison business within AWG our primary goal was to focus the business on repair and maintenance activities; this generated significant shareholder value.
“Morrison’s two divisions, Utility Services and Facilities Services, are successful support services businesses, with excellent management teams, that focus on delivering growth and service excellence.
“I am delighted to be announcing the sale of Utility Services to Cognetas and Englefield Capital. In the current market conditions the successful sale is a reflection of the quality of the business and its people.
“Morrison Facilities Services remains a standalone division that continues to perform well and has shown strong growth.”
Enquiries: Rupert Pittman, Cardew Group 020 7930 0777, 07976 249289 Andrew Mackintosh, Anglian Water Group 01480 323231, 07885 135217
Notes:
Anglian Water Group
AWG is owned by a private consortium, Osprey, comprising of Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Colonial First State Global Asset Management, Industry Funds Management and 3i Group plc.
Morrison
Morrison Utility Services is one of the UK and Eire’s leading service providers within the electricity, gas, telecommunication and water sectors. Service offerings are centred on the provision, replacement, repair and maintenance of utility infrastructure, which clients own and utilise to deliver water, power, energy and communications to their customers. Current clients are Anglian Water, BT, CE Electric, Cork County Council, EDF Energy Networks, Eircom, National Grid, Scotia Gas Networks, Scottish Power, Southern Water, Thames Water, United Utilities, Wales & West Utilities Limited and Yorkshire Water.
Morrison Facilities Services provides repairs, maintenance and Decent Homes services to more homes in the UK than any other service provider. It also manages and maintains a significant number of commercial buildings across the UK. It aims to ensure that customers and clients draw the maximum benefit from the homes they live in and the facilities they use for work, leisure and education.
Cognetas LLP
Cognetas LLP is an independent private equity adviser with a long track record. With offices in Frankfurt, London, Milan and Paris, Cognetas specialises in buy-outs up to €750 million in the following sectors: business services, healthcare, industrial and consumer related industries. Cognetas LLP advises funds of €2.26bn.
Englefield Capital LLP
Englefield Capital LLP is an independent private equity firm with committed equity funds of €1.8 billion making investments in buyout and development capital. Englefield targets equity investments of €30 million to €150 million in Middle Market companies across Europe, generally with enterprise values in excess of €75 million.