SPIE expands service offering into multiple utilities and substations with the acquisition of Leven Energy Services

London, UK - 23 July 2015 - SPIE, the independent European leader in electrical, mechanical and HVAC engineering services, energy and communication systems, has today announced the acquisition of Leven Energy Services. This latest move, which expands SPIE’s share of the UK Distribution and Transmission market, signifies its entry into the Gas, Water and Substation sector and makes it one of the largest woodpole distribution service providers in the UK by both volume and resource.

Established in 2008, Leven Energy Services, an independent utilities contractor supporting Distribution Network Operators (DNO’S), provides a range of engineering and utility services including mains replacement, underground cabling and overhead line management. With sales of £36.6m in 2014, the company’s 139 employees are distributed among its head office in Manchester and five satellite depots across the UK.

James Thoden van Velzen, CEO of SPIE UK, comments: “This acquisition is the next step forward after the creation of SPIE ENS two years ago when we entered into the power line contracting market. Since then we have been involved in some very exciting projects – including the recently reported network renovation with Northern Ireland Electricity. We are looking forward to developing our reach further and becoming one of the biggest players in the utility sector.”

Leven’s strong, recurring client base includes National Grid, Northern Gas Networks, Electricity North West and Scottish & Southern Energy. With 57% of its business generated from electricity works, it recently signed an 8-year contract with Electricity North West for underground cable works up to 33kV. The remaining 43% of Leven’s business is split between the gas and water sectors.

Following SPIE’s acquisition of ENS in 2013, the alignment with Leven enables the company to develop its coverage of the Distribution and Transmission market in the South of the UK creating strong and sustainable revenue streams, via UK regulated spend. Investment in the Electricity Infrastructure sector alone is expected to reach £4.4 billion in 2015-16, an increase of 3% on the previous year. The industry is forecast to grow at a compound annual rate of 6.5% over the following five years⁽¹⁾.

SPIE’s Managing Director for Industrial Services, Steven Nanda says, “SPIE and Leven have very similar work ethics and culture, we both place a primary focus on building long-term relationships with our stakeholders and are committed to delivering a superior service delivered to the highest standards of Health and Safety. Introducing Leven into the SPIE portfolio makes perfect sense and strategically, we are two companies with the same goals in mind.”

Stuart Fraser, Managing Director, Leven, adds: “We are all looking forward to the next chapter in the development of Leven and working alongside SPIE in the future. This is a wonderful opportunity for everyone involved, including our independent and combined customers, to benefit from the positive effect of our collective reach, knowledge and expertise.”

The combined entity of SPIE ENS and Leven will be trading as SPIE Distribution & Transmission.
 

⁽¹⁾ www.ibisworld.co.uk/market-research/electricity-transmission.html