Infrastructure fund manager Quinbrook has sold its UK-based flexible energy platform Flexitricity to renewables firm Drax for £42m (€48.1m).
Quinbrook, which acquired the energy optimisation business in 2020, said it is exiting the investment at an enterprise valuation of £36m, plus a £6m adjustment for working capital and cash.
The transaction does not include Velox Power, which will continue to be held by Quinbrook as a separate entity.
Based in Edinburgh and founded in 2004, Flexitricity helps owners of flexible energy equipment, such as large batteries, backup generators and renewable sites, connect to the UK’s energy markets to earn revenue. The company acts as a digital controller for over 900MW of power assets.
Brian Restall, CEO of Quinbrook, said: “Flexitricity was and remains today the true pioneer of flexible energy solutions in the UK market. Given the UK’s ambitious net-zero goals, we believed that our growth investment into the business represented an opportunity to create value for our investors, which we have succeeded in doing with this sale to Drax.”
Keith Gains, managing director and UK regional lead at Quinbrook, said: “As the retirement of the UK’s older coal, nuclear and gas power stations has accelerated, Flexitricity has played a pivotal role in supporting more flexible and customer-focused energy solutions.
“With the UK’s Clean Power 2030 goals fast approaching, the flexible, firming of reliable supply and grid reliability provided by Flexitricity will remain a key component of the energy transition. We look forward to the company’s continued success in this next growth chapter under Drax’s ownership.”
Andy Lowe, CEO of Flexitricity, said: “Quinbrook brought both strategic focus and momentum to a long-standing, 16-year business, helping to accelerate our transformation into a scaled, tech-enabled market leader.
“Under their ownership, we more than doubled our portfolio capacity, embedded data-science capabilities into our trading platform, and launched major new growth initiatives including FlexGO, which we expect to be revolutionary for consumer-led flexibility.”
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