Opus is pleased to have advised Axil and its shareholders on its sale to TowerBrook, a purpose-driven investment firm. TowerBrook has invested in Axil through its Impact strategy, TowerBrook Delta, which supports high-potential companies with impact at their core.

Axil provides waste management services to complex manufacturing clients. Its innovative resource management solutions help businesses reduce waste at source, improve recycling rates, and lower operational costs.

With TowerBrook’s backing, Axil is poised for growth, strengthening its market presence and expanding its service offering. This partnership will drive smarter waste management solutions and support businesses in achieving their sustainability goals, while creating long-term value for clients.

This landmark deal marks a significant development in the UK Commercial & Industrial waste market and highlights the strength of Opus’ circular economy expertise within its Energy Transition & Climate Change sector practice.

For further information please contact: Stuart Schofield, Thalia Ilsen Nunn and Ed Williamson.

Opus Corporate Finance is delighted to have advised the shareholders of City Apartments Ltd, Jono Dennis and David Smith, on its successful sale to Ando Living Group. It has been a pleasure working alongside Jono and David together with Richard Dawes and Phoenix Chow at Savills Hotel Capital Markets

City Apartments is a leading serviced apartment operator with 208 units across 8 prime City of London locations and joins Ando Living as a vital step in its strategic expansion into the UK market. We wish City Apartments and Ando Living every success in achieving the next exciting stage of growth together in the London market.

This transaction underscores Opus’s expertise in the built environment sector and in securing optimal strategic outcomes for our clients in complex market conditions.

For further information, please contact: Nigel McNelly and Tom Rahman.

Opus is pleased to have advised the shareholders of Pinnacle Group on its sale to Hyde Group, a prominent housing association in the UK focused on providing affordable homes in London and the South East.

Pinnacle is a national provider of housing and community-facing neighbourhood services for mixed tenure housing and community infrastructure, generating approximately £200m in revenue for FY24. With over 30 years of experience, it is a trusted public sector partner, delivering integrated solutions to both new and existing neighbourhoods for central and local government as well as institutional investors.

The acquisition supports Hyde’s strategy to become a leading national housing and property services provider while maintaining its charitable purpose. The enlarged group will manage around 120,000 homes and serve approximately 350,000 households, partnering with schools, councils, and emergency services.

This landmark deal marks a significant development in the UK housing sector and further highlights the strength of Opus’ Built Environment practice, underscoring our long-term relationship with Pinnacle, particularly following our advice on the sale of Pinnacle Power to DIF, a carve-out of its district heating business.

For further information, please contact: Nigel McNelly, Dilesh Patel, and Ethan Hughes.

We are delighted to feature leaders reshaping industries, and scaling their business globally, in our Opus Innovators & Founders Series.

Orlin, what convinced you to initiate Ampeco in 2018? 

In 2018, while researching an electric vehicle car-sharing project, I faced the challenge of figuring out how to charge the fleet. At the time, there was no existing charging infrastructure to depend on, creating a need to  develop our own. Initially, I assumed this would primarily involve hardware and contacted various vendors to explore our options. However, I quickly realized that managing EV charging operations effectively would also require a sophisticated software platform. 

As I dug deeper, I was intrigued by the interaction of IT, energy, and mobility, each with its distinct challenges and opportunities. The more I explored, the more I recognized the potential impact of the solutions we could develop for the EV charging sector. 

Drawing on nearly a decade of experience in software development with our current CTO, where we crafted software solutions for startups and large enterprises, I decided to pivot toward my newfound interest in the EV charging sector. Our combined expertise in software development became the cornerstone for AMPECO. We set out to build a robust EV charging platform that would enable EV charging operators to launch, scale, and manage their businesses efficiently. 

What are the biggest opportunities and challenges to CPO software providers at the moment? 

The fast pace of development in the EV charging industry, dictated by market dynamics, technological advancements, and regulatory shifts, creates significant challenges but also remarkable opportunities for CPO software providers.  

As a global player serving customers in over 50 countries, one of our key challenges is meeting diverse use cases and complying with varying regulatory demands across different markets. At the same time, our goal is to identify and implement best-practice approaches that effectively meet these varied needs. To accomplish this, we have organized our team and processes to collect and evaluate insights from the market and customers and quickly incorporate this knowledge into our product development roadmap. 

What will Ampeco focus on with the funds raised on the Series A in 2022? 

When we raised our Series A at the end of 2022, it was to further the advancement of our EV charging management platform and increase our market presence in Europe and the US.  

In line with this strategy, we have established new offices in France, the Netherlands, Germany and the US. We have continued to invest in the development of new features on our platform, increasing the value for our customers – from billing & payments, operations & maintenance to energy management – advancing our offering in many areas.  

The feedback from our clients have been overwhelmingly positive. We have seen our existing customers leveraging the capabilities of our platform to achieve remarkable growth.  

Moreover, we have become the preferred choice for several prominent EV charging networks, who have switched to our platform to grow and scale their operations more efficiently. 

What would be your advice to someone starting an EV Charging or Mobility software company? 

Having founded several companies, including my first one during high school, I have learned a lot through both successes and mistakes, and I am still learning. However, there are a few things that I am convinced make a big difference to your chances of succeeding in starting a new business. 

First, market opportunity is crucial. It must be significant, especially if you aim to make a global impact or build a billion-dollar business. The scale of the market opportunity should align with your aspirations. 

Secondly, the founding team is critical. It is about understanding why you and your founding team are the right people to capitalize on this market opportunity. Be clear on the unique skills and experiences you possess that will drive your success. 

Thirdly, especially in a sector like EV charging or any emerging industry, it’s important to have a solid understanding of the market dynamics and be able to envision future trends, not just the status quo. It is very different doing business in an established industry and in one that is changing rapidly. Industries in flux, like ours, demand a strategic approach that accounts for rapid changes in market dynamics, technology, and regulations. In our case, we have tailored our strategy and business model for where we anticipate the industry will be by 2040. It is all about navigating current changes with a clear vision of the future.

Opus is delighted to announce that a senior banker in the energy transition and mobility space, Dominique Houde, is joining Opus as a partner.

Energy Transition and Climate Change is a core sector for Opus, one of the first corporate finance firms covering the sector comprehensively.

Dominique has more than 20 years of M&A experience while at Merrill Lynch, ABN AMRO/RBS, and Improved Corporate Finance, where he was involved in a large number of key mobility and clean energy transactions, bringing global investors to these companies.  Dominique was also a co-founder of Autotech Ventures, the first independent VC firm in the automotive technology space based in Silicon Valley, and held senior roles in EV charging software and infrastructure companies.

Dominique stated: “Opus Corporate Finance has built a very impressive deal flow and significant expertise in the overall Energy Transition space, from software to renewable power, clean fuels, batteries and renewable infrastructure transactions among others, right at the heart of London, a major centre of capital flows.  I am looking forward to furthering the reach of Opus in the mobility and infrastructure areas in this ever-integrated space, as deal volume and size scale up in the years to come.”

John McElroy, co-head of Energy Transition & Climate Change at Opus added: “We are delighted to have attracted such an experienced sector banker to Opus and look forward to working with Dominique as we broaden and deepen our well established Energy Transition & Climate Change practice.  Dominique’s expertise in e-mobility in particular builds on and complements Opus’ strong track record in that vertical.”

Opus’ partnership within Mergers Alliance, a leading global network of financial advisory boutiques, enables us to connect clients with perspectives and opportunities across the world.

Since 2006, Opus has worked with clients across a spectrum of specialisms, geographies and sectors, and was one of the first Corporate Finance firms to develop a sizeable energy transition practice.  Whatever your corporate strategy, short-term needs and stakeholder challenges, we are focused on achieving your goals.

Following recent conferences in Munich, Paris and Chicago, Opus was delighted to host the Mergers Alliance Spring conference 2023 in London with 90 attendees from all over the world.

These bi-annual conferences are an integral part of our relationship-based Mergers Alliance Partnership and offer a vital opportunity to discuss cross border deal opportunities and international market trends.

The conference agenda included guest speaker, economist George Magnus followed by an engaging panel discussion focussed on energy and supply chain security. Throughout there was intensive networking to reinforce the deep personal relationships between the Partners.

Opus is active with the majority of its Partners on current projects and opportunities across all of our core sectors. Of note is that, together with partners, we are working with multinational clients pursuing strategic roll ups across multiple geographies – Mergers Alliance is uniquely positioned to deliver these complex business critical initiatives.

The next Mergers Alliance Partner Conference is in Mumbai in October – we very much look forward to seeing our colleagues in India and to achieving multiple transaction successes in the coming months.

We are extremely proud of the franchise Opus has established since its inception at the beginning of 2007 and of the outstanding team of professionals we have built over that time. It has been a period of enormous change and opportunity.

While the firm remains generalist and undertakes a wide range of corporate finance assignments, we have developed deep knowledge and domain expertise in certain key sectors:

• Energy Transition & Climate Change – sustainability has been at the core of what Opus has done since its foundation when we worked closely with Carbon Trust. We have steadily built a market-leading team. We have completed over 30 deals in this space including 7 during the course of 2021 such as the sale of the Electric Highway for Ecotricity, or the sale of Baringa’s Climate Change Scenario Model to BlackRock.

• Chemicals & Ingredients – while a relatively new area for Opus, Chris Carlisle and his team have already had a significant impact. They have completed a number of notable deals such as Bain and Cinven’s acquisition of Lonza Specialty Ingredients and AEA’s acquisition of Verdesian. A particular focus for the team is agrochemicals and the transition to sustainable chemistry, which fits well with our overarching theme of sustainability.

• Built Environment – this is a key sector for Opus where we have completed many deals over the years including the recent sales of Rendall & Rittner, and of Busworks. Our business includes a focus on PropTech and emerging construction and management business models such as modular construction and the private rental sector.

• Financial Services – our particular focus is on asset and wealth management where a notable recent transaction was the sale of Pensions Infrastructure Platform to Foresight Group. ESG products are dominant in asset management as is the rapidly growing alternatives space, in which infrastructure and real estate are key sub-sectors. These themes link our activities to our other sectors of Built Environment and Energy Transition & Climate Change.

• Industrial Technologies & Services – this sector covers a wide range of businesses with a particular focus on technologies and business models driving productivity and efficiency gains. The sale of DEXMA Sensors, an AI driven energy efficiency software business, exemplifies this and shows the links between key sector themes.

Complementing these sector activities are our specialist skills in public markets and private special situations.  We are unusual among firms of our size in having extensive public markets experience and we advise on IPOs, public market equity issuance and takeovers under the City Code.  Our private special situations practice works on often complex, multi stakeholder engagements where considerable structuring is required and governance processes may need to be evolved.

Opus remains keen to recruit partners with an outstanding track record in sectors complementary to our franchise and for whom Opus could provide a unique economic springboard.

Our membership of Mergers Alliance continues to broaden the opportunities available to our internationally experienced partner group. We look forward to continuing success with Mergers Alliance friends.

Our next fifteen years is an exciting prospect and we look forward to working with clients old and new to further and achieve their ambitions.

Our success is built on the relationships we hold and Opus stays closely in touch with its clients to anticipate and support their needs. This embedded client-focused culture has provided a robust business platform during the pandemic period and ensured that we have maintained our strategic momentum and a high level of activity over the last 12 months.

During this period we have continued to recruit and the Opus team now comprises 22 professionals.

Opus has closed important transactions in each of its core sectors:

Energy Transition & Climate Change

• Advised Ecotricity on its new partnership with GRIDSERVE, which will accelerate the upgrade of Ecotricity’s electric vehicle charging network, the Electric Highway. GRIDSERVE has also acquired a 25% stake in the Electric Highway.
• Advised Eelpower on its battery storage partnership with SUSI. This involved the sale to SUSI of 40MW of Eelpower’s existing electricity storage assets and a partnership to construct and operate new build assets.
• Advised Carbon Clean Solutions (CCSL) on raising a total of $22m of growth capital from a number of global investors. CCSL is a global leader in low-cost carbon dioxide (CO2) separation technology.

Financial Services

• Advised PiP on its sale to Foresight Group. PiP is a UK infrastructure asset manager with £700m+ NAV and a portfolio of 17 assets in Renewable Energy, Social and Transport sectors.

Chemicals & Ingredients

• Advised AEA Investors on its acquisition of Verdesian Life Sciences, a leading US agrochemicals platform that develops biological, nutritional, fertilizer enhancers, seed treatment and inoculant technologies.
• Advised Bain Capital and Cinven on their CHF 4.2bn joint acquisition of Lonza’s Specialty Ingredients business, which is a provider of specialty chemicals for microbial control solutions.

Industrial Technologies & Services / The Built Environment

• Advised DEXMA on its sale to Nemetschek. DEXMA, based in Spain, provides energy management and air quality software for large, commercial real estate portfolios offered on a SaaS basis.

We also continue to work closely with entrepreneur owner managers in achieving their funding and exit goals:

• Advised VetUK on its sale to VetPartners. VetUK is one of the UK’s biggest online suppliers of pet care products including toys, accessories, pet food, OTC pet treatments and veterinary prescription medicines.

Rapidly changing markets create challenge and opportunity in equal measure. Opus is thriving in this environment, applying the deep experience and exceptional quality of our team to achieve outstanding outcomes for our clients. We look forward to the next 12 months and all that we will continue to achieve together.

We have a broad perspective on developments in the market and thought it timely to make a number of brief observations on what we are presently seeing. Our current mandates include carbon capture and fuel cell technology companies, energy efficiency software, EV charging and battery storage infrastructure.

• Our general experience in the Sustainability market is that business continues and, while it has not been immune to the broader economic impacts of COVID-19, the forces driving the sector are much longer term
• Infrastructure investors by and large remain open for business and, though there may be fires to fight in some portfolios (notably around transport assets), renewable generation growth and the grid stability issues that flow from it are clear long term trends and COVID-19 does not change that
• We have seen similar arguments apply in relation to cleantech where the desire to invest is often underpinned by ESG considerations for larger corporates, and valuations are a function of future market demand and profitability rather than today’s EBITDA.  Quality opportunities remain scarce and strategic appetite continues to be strong
• Perhaps the main area where we have seen some softness is in more mature services businesses.  For those, where the buyer universe is more skewed towards private equity and valuations are a function of EBITDA, not surprisingly we have seen several sellers hit the ‘pause button’ although, with underlying trends still strong, this is mainly a matter of timing
• Liquidity issues are less prevalent than in other sectors, but we are seeing some challenges in particular where companies need additional capital from a new provider but existing capital structures make securing such capital complex
• This experience is broadly mirrored across the Sustainability sector teams within partner firms in our international network Mergers Alliance

Opus has a strong track record advising in all these situations and a highly experienced team who have worked through a number of cycles and downturns and can add value through helping interpret and navigate difficult public and private markets.  Please do make contact if you believe we may be able to help.