Blue Pearl Energy has announced the launch of its innovative European energy services platform, dedicated to offering comprehensive energy efficiency solutions for public, commercial and industrial buildings. Designed to provide an alternative to large energy companies, Blue Pearl Energy has developed an original business model, whose aim is to create a powerful European network of SMEs specialising in various fields of energy services for private and public sector clients. Supported by global infrastructure investment manager DWS on behalf of one of its funds, the platform has a €600 million investment programme earmarked for the acquisition of some twenty SMEs over a five-year period, with three companies already acquired as of the 2nd quarter of 2020.
Blue Pearl Energy’s investment programme enjoys the financial backing of DWS’ institutional pan-European infrastructure fund, the third in the series. This solid financial footing will enable the platform to acquire SMEs specialising in one or several aspects of B2B energy services throughout France, Germany, Spain, Belgium, and Central Europe. It will also enable Blue Pearl Energy’s clients to finance their own energy efficiency-related investments.
The Blue Pearl Energy platform aims to bring together SMEs with complementary expertise and services, in order to offer comprehensive energy efficiency solutions for buildings and industrial sites, primarily in the fields of electrical engineering, HVAC engineering, onsite renewable energy generation, cogeneration and energy management.
The company’s ambition is to be recognized as a reliable alternative supplier of energy services, independent of large energy service providers, and capable of delivering comprehensive value-added solutions covering a wide range of geographies, technologies and clients.
Supporting SMEs to succeed in the new energy efficiency market
The range of service providers offering energy solutions for buildings and facilities is characterized by a clear divide between large industrial groups and SMEs. In a market with such strong growth potential, this creates a vacuum for medium-sized newcomers that Blue Pearl Energy is ideally positioned to fill.
Eric de Seguins Pazzis, co-founder and CEO of Blue Pearl Energy, explains: “there is a strong market opportunity for an initiative like ours: firstly, because the European market for energy services is showing strong growth, boosted by the urgent drive towards energy transition. This drive is now at the heart of Europe’s post-Covid stimulus plans. Secondly, because the sector is currently split between large multinationals on the one hand, and on the other hand independent SMEs who struggle to offer comprehensive solutions, preventing them from accessing certain customer segments and large-scale contracts. This creates a space for a medium-sized operator offering a hybrid model, capable of meeting the needs of clients who have so far been insufficiently met by the existing ecosystem.”
A credible alternative to the largest energy services suppliers
Blue Pearl Energy aims to tap into the potential for complementarity across the companies in its network, building up synergies in order to offer more comprehensive solutions for its clients. This hybrid model combines the best of both worlds: on the one hand, that of large groups, by providing a central platform to drive forward the strategic vision of the entire network, as well as support its commercial development by deploying new services and widening its client base. On the other hand, that of the SMEs who will join the platform, operating with a deep-rooted entrepreneurial culture and whose values are defined by proximity, agility and a resolute sense of customer service.
This innovative concept has already won over three fast-growing SMEs operating in France and in Belgium: Alcad, Coretec Energy and Cogengreen. These acquisitions were finalised in the second quarter of 2020, while advanced discussions are currently underway with several other SMEs eager to subscribe to Blue Pearl Energy’s value proposition.
“The accelerated energy transition of the European economy is creating new needs for businesses and the public sector. This new dynamic requires small energy services companies to provide more comprehensive solutions by gathering a broader range of complementary expertise in one place. Blue Pearl Energy provides an innovative solution to this new challenge and adopts a clear course of action and ambition: activating synergies between high-potential SMEs while preserving their operational autonomy, agility and business culture. Thanks to Blue Pearl Energy, the SMEs who join the platform will benefit from enhanced capacities for European deployment, while retaining their business independence, their benchmark position in their respective markets, and their organizations,” concludes Eric de Seguins Pazzis.