NPM CAPITAL acquires a majority stake in Greenspread and Solaris Industria

NPM Capital

Investment company NPM Capital acquires a majority stake in Greenspread and Solaris Industria. Both companies develop and operate sustainable energy projects, including solar PV systems. The acquisitions are part of the investment strategy employed by NPM Capital in this sector and follow the majority stake that the investment company acquired in Rooftop Energy in June 2019. Jeroen de Haas, former head of Eneco and member of the Supervisory Board and active adviser at Rooftop Energy, will take on the role of president of the new business combination.

“We are delighted that we have made our first, concrete step in line with our acquisition agenda which focuses on accelerating the energy transition in the Netherlands”, explains De Haas. “Greenspread and Solaris Industria both have an excellent track record and each contribute, in their own way, to the group which is gradually taking shape. The acquisitions also mean strong and ambitious energy professionals will be joining. In the coming period, we will maintain our focus on acquiring small and large companies to create rapid scale expansion in large solar power stations. Alongside the growth in solar energy, we are currently also working on several investment opportunities which target the expansion of the proposition for making our customers completely sustainable.

Leendert Florusse, CEO of Rooftop Energy, adds: “Both Greenspread and Solaris Industria offer an impressive portfolio of solar PV projects that have already been realised or which are still in the pipeline. Together, we can take an even better stand and create an important place for solar energy in the sustainable energy system of the future.”

About Greenspread
Greenspread develops and operates sustainable energy projects and is one of the most well-known sustainable energy advisers in the Netherlands. It takes on the entire process for all forms of sustainable energy (e.g. solar PV, renewable heat, charging points, storage and hydrogen), from technical feasibility, to design, financing, preparation, installation and management. In many cases, Greenspread also invests, with the customer, in the final energy solution. The company, which is headquartered in Woudenberg and began in 2010, has now realised hundreds of projects. When it comes to increasing the sustainability of existing property, Greenspread is the market leader in the public domain (municipalities, hospitals, water boards). Over the past ten years, almost 200 municipalities have used Greenspread’s services. At the start of 2020, Greenspread was generating 24 MW in solar PV installations and also had a pipeline of 140 MW in solar PV projects which increasingly involves businesses. Greenspread currently employs 15 employees. This number is expected to increase in the coming years. The directors of Greenspread, Jan Willem Zwang and Gerhard van de Lagemaat, will remain active in the group as shareholders. Ivo Priem, investor in Greenspread through his investment company Livermore TC, will sell his share.

Jan Willem Zwang, founder and general director of Greenspread: ”As a result of Gerhard’s involvement since the end of 2015 and the investments from Ivo in mid-2017, Greenspread has been able to realise enormous growth. The acquisition strategy applied by NPM Capital in our sector has given us the opportunity to accommodate the realisation and operation of our own solar PV projects within Rooftop Energy. As a result, we can work with Greenspread as an independent adviser to further focus on increasing sustainability among our customers. We are very excited about this acquisition and the active involvement of Jeroen de Haas. Greenspread will not only enable us to realise our own ambitions more quickly, but also help us really get things moving!”

About Solaris Industria
The Utrecht-based Solaris Industria operates large-scale solar PV installations, particularly on commercial roofs in the Netherlands. Via a business model that concentrates on partnerships, Solaris has currently developed around 30 MWp in projects, divided across more than 50 locations.

Co-founders Robin Koek and Jöbke Janssen shall continue as shareholders and remain active in the group. Solaris will work from its base in Utrecht to further strengthen its position as a reliable partner for financing solar PV projects.

Robin Koek: “We feel very positive about the fact that NPM Capital is part of family business SHV, which has a flexible and long investment horizon, and has a clear vision of the further expansion of sustainable energy in the Netherlands. We are sure that our partners, installers and customers will benefit from this move.”

Jöbke Janssen adds: “This takeover has come at a good moment for us. As a result of our rapid growth, we were at the point of investing in further professionalisation, including specific software systems. Within the group,  Rooftop Energy is its next phase, and has already raised the bar in terms of professionalism. We can neatly connect into this. It means we don’t need to reinvent the wheel and can focus on what we really love doing: realising sustainable projects for our customers.”

Read also NPM Capital acquires majority stake in Rooftop Energy

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Speed Group to install Nordic region’s largest solar-panel roof

Ratos

2020-02-10

The Nordic region’s largest rooftop photovoltaic (PV) system – both in terms of size and capacity – will be installed on Speed Group’s new head office and warehouse, located outside Borås, Sweden. The system, which will cover an area as big as 11 football pitches, is expected to produce 4GWh of green electricity per year, equivalent to the annual consumption of 400 villas. The initiative will provide Speed Group with an attractive green logistics offering and make the warehouse CO2 positive.

“We can now offer our new and existing customers an attractive green logistics solution, which is becoming increasingly sought after. This warehouse will provide our customers with a CO2-neutral solution. As we automate our warehouses, our energy needs are also increasing, and these needs can now be met with solar power produced at our own facility,” says Mats Johnson, CEO of Speed Group.

Speed Group’s new warehouse and head office will be completed on an ongoing basis, with the entire building, comprising 83,000 square metres, expected to be fully operational by May 2020. The PV system will cover an area of 60,000 square metres.

“This initiative is an exciting and natural step both from a business perspective for Speed Group and from a social and sustainability perspective. Ratos is convinced that there is a strong link between sustainability and long-term value creation, and these issues are top priorities for us in our ownership role,” says Christian Johansson Gebauer, Head of Business Area Construction & Services at Ratos and Chairman of the Board of Speed Group.

Ratos became the majority owner of Speed Group in 2015. Today, Speed Group is a national supplier of logistics, staffing, recruitment and training services, with a strong position in an attractive underlying market. The company has approximately 1,050 employees and sales of SEK 707m for 2019.

For further information, please contact:
Christian Johansson Gebauer, Head of Business Area Construction & Services, Ratos, +46 8 700 17 00
Helene Gustafsson, Head of IR and Press, Ratos, +46 8 700 17 98

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