SPIE, the UK-based provider of electrical, mechanical and HVAC engineering services, energy and communication systems, has announced its acquisition of the utilities contractor Leven Energy Services.
The move to acquire Leven Energy Services comes as SPIE looks to expand its operations into the gas, water and substation sectors. The contractor provides a range of engineering and utility services, including mains replacement, underground cabling and overhead line management.
In 2014, Leven had sales of $56.7 million and employed 139 staff in its offices in Manchester and its five satellite depots across the UK.
“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,” said James Thoden van Velzen, CEO of SPIE UK in a statement.
“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 client base includes the National Grid, Northern Gas Networks and Balfour Beatty, with 57% of its business is generated from electricity works. It recently signed an eight-year contract with Electricity North-West in the UK for underground cable works up to 33kV. The remaining 43% of its business is split between the gas and water sectors.
“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,” said Stuart Fraser, managing director of Leven.
The combined entity of SPIE ENS and Leven will be trading as SPIE Distribution & Transmission.