Acquisition will lead to new jobs and investment for Liverpool meter firm
Commercial energy supplier BES Utilities has bought Access Install, for an undisclosed sum, with a further planned seven-figure investment in the operation over the next 12 months. Tony McDonough reports
A least 20 new jobs will be created at a Liverpool-based meter installation and management specialist after it was acquired by a Lancashire business.
Commercial energy supplier BES Utilities has bought Access Install, for an undisclosed sum, with a further planned seven-figure investment in the operation over the next 12 months.
The business will now trade as BES Metering Services with all 80 Access Install employees – including a nationwide network of metering engineers – transferring to the BES Group with immediate effect.
Founded in 2016, Access Install provides Meter Operator Provider (MoP), Meter Asset Manager (MAM) and Meter Asset Provider (MAP) services. Operations and staff will continue to be based at Liverpool International Business Park following the sale to BES.
The acquisition could prove lucrative for BES with the Government targeting the installation of more than 53m ‘smart meters’ in homes and businesses by the end of 2020. Smart meters enable customers to receive accurate and up-to-date information about their energy consumption.
BES co-founder and chairman, Andy Pilley, said: “Through this acquisition we now have our very own dedicated metering installation and servicing company and the importance of this cannot be over-stated.
“By combining this new internal capability with the services of our existing trusted partners we will improve the speed and reliability of metering appointments as well as access to the latest metering technologies and that is great news for customers.
“On top of this, having our own metering business demonstrates our commitment towards meeting the Government’s smart meter rollout target.”
BES was formed in 2002 and supplies gas and electricity to non-domestic customers across the UK. It recently bucked the national trend by slashing electricity bills for thousands of businesses by an average of 10.28%.