Macquarie to Sell UK C&I Smart Meter Portfolio to Energy Assets Group

Macquarie Specialised and Asset Finance (Macquarie) – part of Macquarie’s Commodities and Global Markets Group – has successfully divested Cortex Metering Solutions (CMS), a UK industrial and commercial (I&C) smart meter portfolio, to Energy Assets Group (Energy Assets).

With more than 600,000 meters rented to more than 80 energy suppliers throughout Great Britain (GB), CMS is a leading Meter Asset Provider (MAP) in the GB I&C sector. Energy Assets is one of Britain’s fastest growing independent I&C multi-utility metering and data services businesses, helping public and private sector organisations improve their energy efficiency through ground-breaking analytics and innovative customer-focused processes. The company also designs, constructs, adopts, and owns multi-utility networks.

Macquarie is one of GB’s largest MAPs with a portfolio of more than 11 million meters.  Macquarie established its market leading metering business in 2003, responding to the growing demand from energy suppliers for an independent, flexible and competitive MAP service that would meet their regulatory requirements and ambitious roll out targets.

Macquarie entered I&C metering in 2006 and has since deployed over 600,000 meters into this segment. With a further 5.4 million smart meters in the residential sector across GB, Macquarie is a significant funder and supporter of the smart energy evolution, with more than one in six homes in GB already benefiting from a Macquarie meter – of which more than half are now smart. Macquarie will continue to focus its efforts on the residential metering sector going forward.

Julian Liddy, Senior Managing Director and Head of Macquarie Specialised and Asset Finance in EMEA said: “Having played an active and founding role in the UK’s metering industry for the last 18 years, we are proud of the contribution we have made in building out the I&C portfolio to this point and helping our clients to deploy smart meters across the country. We wish Energy Assets continued success with the portfolio’s future development.”

Neil Denley, a Managing Director for Macquarie Specialised and Asset Finance in EMEA, added: “The sale of part of our I&C portfolio will allow us to focus on our residential metering business – where we have an important role to play in helping meet our customers’ ambitious smart meter rollout targets. After a competitive process, we have chosen Energy Assets as a highly credible new owner, with longstanding experience and an impressive track record, who we believe can continue to deliver successfully for our commercial metering clients.”

Colin Lynch, Energy Assets Chief Executive Officer commented: “We are delighted to have this opportunity to extend our reach in I&C metering. This acquisition diversifies our metering portfolio, complements our offering, and aligns with our strategy to be a leader in technologies and services that support energy efficiency and environmental sustainability in the I&C market segment. We very much look forward to working closely with our customers on this exciting phase for the Group.”

Smart meters are the next generation of a gas and electricity meter, providing energy consumption data to customers and energy retailers in near real time. The roll-out of smart meters is a key enabler to a more efficient energy system and gives customers more information and more control over their energy use and an important part of the UK’s energy mix as the country strives to meet its 2050 carbon targets.

Macquarie Capital (Europe) Limited acted as financial advisor and Allen & Overy as legal advisor to Macquarie Specialised and Asset Finance on the transaction. Evercore acted as sole financial advisor and Clifford Chance as legal advisor to Energy Assets on the transaction.