Fife firm showing extra energy as it moves into US

M&C Energy, the Fife-based power consultancy specialist, extended its global reach yesterday by snapping up a US rival in what is expected to be the first in a series of international deals over the coming weeks.

The firm, known as McKinnon & Clarke until it was taken over by private equity firm Lyceum Capital in 2010, is understood to have paid a multi-million dollar sum for Arizona-based Coleman Hines.

Coleman Hines’ clients are spread across Canada and the US and include major retailers such as fast-food chain McDonald’s and Nasdaq-listed PetSmart.

News of the deal comes just weeks after M&C, which advises companies on the prices they pay for their energy and on ways to cut their power consumption, opened its first offices in the US, in Arizona and Georgia.

News is expected within weeks of the company’s move into New Zealand after a push last year into Australia.

Further deals in the US could also be on the cards, particularly along the eastern seaboard.

Chief executive Mark Dickinson said: “While M&C is well-known around the world, the North American market is relatively new to us and bringing Coleman Hines on board will strengthen our foothold and market position there.”

Dan Adler, a partner at Lyceum and M&C board member, added: “The US is a key market for M&C’s services and, with a number of significant contracts already in the pipeline for the enlarged business, there is a compelling case for the firm’s North American expansion.”

The latest deal pushes M&C Energy’s headcount above the 500 mark, with about 180 of the staff based at its head office in Dunfermline. The company also has large teams operating in Hungary and Thailand.

M&C Energy has doubled the size of its business in the past two years and now has offices in 13 countries and clients in about 40 nations. Its growth was fuelled by a series of acquisitions, including Oldham-based Utility Masters in January 2011 and a hat-trick of takeovers in 2010.

Hungary-based Encore was snapped up for £6.3 million in a deal backed by HSBC and Lyceum, while Australian firm Creative Energy Solutions and German consultancy ETT were bought for undisclosed sums.

The latest acquisition pushes M&C Energy closer to the financial target set by its chairman, Gerry Higgins, of turning over £100m a year within the next four years. Figures released late last year showed that the firm already had revenues of some £37m in the year to 30 June, posting a profit of about £7.5m.

M&C Energy manages more than £6.25 billion of energy consumption each year for 3,500 companies, with clients in the UK including Microsoft and Vion, the Dutch firm that owns Grampian Country Foods.