Aliter acquires majority stake in Calm

Financial details of the transaction remain undisclosed, though Aliter backs companies with enterprise values in the £10-50m range.

Under its new ownership, Calm will look to expand its presence geographically beyond its current focus on the north-west of England and Midlands to the rest of the UK. It will also seek to make bolt-on acquisitions.

The company's founders Stephen Bruce and Mark Popham have retained minority stakes as part of the deal and will work alongside Aliter.

As part of the deal, Greg Fernie – who has held senior positions at National Energy Action, Warm Zones CIC and Electricity North West – has been appointed CEO of Calm. Aliter partner Greig Brown will take on the role of chairperson, while managing partner Billy Allan will also take a seat on the board.

The deal is the second investment made from Aliter's debut fund, following a majority investment in Scottish engineering group Edwin James Holdings. Aliter Capital I held a final close in February 2017 on its £92m hard-cap.

The transaction was completed via the Ipsum Group newco.

Company
Founded in 2012 and headquartered in Preston, Calm is a provider of utilities monitoring, metering and management products and services. It has a headcount of around 85 and has increased its turnover by around 200% over the past two years, according to a statement issued by the GP.

Calm primarily operates in the water sector, though the aforementioned statement says its products are equally suited to the electricity segment and the gas distribution and transmission sector. The business has two additional offices in Glasgow and Chesterfield.

People
Aliter Capital – Greig Brown (partner); Billy Allan (managing partner).
Complete Asset Life Management Group – Greg Fernie (CEO).

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