Private equity house Maven Capital Partners (Maven) has sold GEV Group Holdings Limited (GEV) to Bridges Fund Management generating 2.7x returns for Maven investors. The existing management team, led by CEO David Fletcher, is re-investing as part of the deal and will continue to lead the business.
Headquartered in Hull, GEV Group is a diverse energy services business with a key focus in the wind power renewable market. Established in 2008, the Company initially specialised in providing experienced engineering personnel for the UK oil and gas sector. Following the appointment of David Fletcher as Managing Director in 2010, GEV diversified its service offering into renewables, and following the formation of its sub-division ‘GEV Wind’ in 2012, the business has grown significantly with revenues increasing from GBP2.5 million in 2012 to GBP15.6 million for the latest full financial year.
GEV principally provides rotor blade maintenance services for wind turbines and is now recognised as the market leader in this specialist area. The Company has been awarded several key service agreements with some of the industry’s largest original equipment manufacturers and wind farm operators.
In 2015 Maven invested GBP5.4 million to support the MBO of GEV and quickly appointed Ron Smith, a former senior Siemens Board member as Chairman of the new Group. During the period of Maven’s investment, GEV also made the strategic decision to enter the US market and have since successfully established a foothold in North America, providing additional revenues during the winter months when servicing work in Europe is reduced due to adverse weather conditions.
Andrew Symmonds, Investment Director at Maven, says: “The sale of the GEV Group is a great return for our investors. The growth of the Group since the MBO is testament to both the quality of the GEV business and its senior management team. We are proud of how we have supported the Directors to execute their strategy during this growth phase, resulting in a business that has significantly expanded its global footprint and improved its service capability and market reputation. We would like to thank the GEV team for their hard work and wish them good luck for the next stage of the journey.”
David Fletcher, Managing Director at GEV, adds: “David Fletcher, Managing Director at GEV: “We are proud to have grown GEV into one of the global market leaders for wind turbine blade repair and maintenance during the time of our partnership with Maven Capital Partners. Their support and strategic advice enabled the business to fully capitalise on its diversification into the renewables sector, as well as enabling GEV to enter the US market which has unlocked significant growth and a host of new strategic opportunities. We’d like to thank Maven for the help they have provided over the past four years and are excited about the next phase of our growth.”
James Hurrell, Partner at Bridges, says: “We are delighted to be backing David and team to grow GEV. We have been looking for the right opportunity in the renewables sector for some time; and in GEV, we see a business with strong momentum in a large and global market. We are excited about the expansion opportunities ahead; and we’re also delighted to be contributing to the growth of the wind turbine market, given the critical role it can play in addressing our global climate challenge.”