Burges Salmon has advised its client Business Growth Fund (BGF) on its £3.6m investment in sustainable energy firm Ecovision (Group) Limited.
The Burges Salmon team, led by partner Richard Spink with assistance from senior associates Douglas Streatfeild-James, Vanessa Barnicoat and solicitor Jenny Tran, advised BGF on the deal, which will provide Ecovision with not only growth capital but also access to BGF’s networks and market expertise.
As one of the UK’s leading providers of sustainable energy systems, Ecovision installs heat pump, solar thermal, biomass and underfloor systems in thousands of homes, businesses and community buildings across the UK. Over 5,000 systems have been installed by Ecovision since it was established in 2005. The company operates nationwide with its head office located on The Prince of Wales’ Highgrove Estate in Gloucestershire.
BGF was established in 2011 to help Britain’s growing smaller and medium sized businesses. Backed by five of the UK’s main banking groups – Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, RBS and Standard Chartered – BGF is an independent company with up to £2.5 billion with which to make long-term equity investments.
BGF's growth capital investment in Ecovision will initially focus on scaling up the company’s Hassle Free Boilers (HFB) subsidiary to create a significant installed base of boilers with contractual revenues. In addition, there are plans to scale up Ecovision’s Air Source Heat Pumps (ASHP) offering, which can replace energy from oil, LPG and electric heaters and allow a significant reduction in fuel bills and CO2 emissions.
Richard Spink said: “We are delighted to have advised the BGF team on this strategic energy sector investment. Ecovision has developed a strong reputation in the household sustainable energy market and this investment will enable it to achieve continued growth and build on its significant experience in the sector.”
Burges Salmon advised BGF in April 2013 on its investment of £3.92 million of growth capital in Magmatic Ltd, which trades under the ‘Trunki’ brand name.