Global professional services organization, Lloyd’s Register Group (LR: London), announced Oct. 7 that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its Energy business unit to Inspirit Capital, a London-based investment firm focused on building long-term value.

The deal will create a new engineering and technical consultancy offering specialist asset performance, risk management, and project management expertise across complex industrial assets, the energy transition, and rail infrastructure.

Commenting on the announcement, LR’s CEO, Alastair Marsh, said, “As part of an ongoing strategic review of our business, we reached the decision that this transaction is the best option to realize the long-term growth potential of our Energy business. LR Energy offers world-class engineering solutions across the sector, and the partnership with Inspirit provides them with further support and investment to underpin their growth objectives. The LR Group remains committed to the energy sector, continuing to support our clients through our offshore compliance, digital products, and inspection services businesses, in collaboration with our former LR Energy colleagues where appropriate.”

David Clark, LR’s energy director, who will lead the new company, commented, “This is an exciting new chapter for us, which supports our mission to help clients tackle complexity head on. This announcement provides us with a partner to build on our existing track record and unlock our growth potential as a stand-alone business, offering our full suite of technical, regulatory, and operational expertise. Our purpose is to help clients manage risk and maximize performance, blending deep technical knowledge, data-driven insights with hands on expertise. The increasing complexity we are seeing, with the transition and restructuring of the energy markets and the impact of digital transformation across our global energy, complex industrial and transport customers, means our solutions are more relevant than ever. We look forward to working with the Inspirit team to deliver on our ambitions.”

Will Stamp, founding partner at Inspirit Capital, added, “LR’s Energy division has an excellent reputation internationally and we are proud to be supporting the next phase in the development of the business. We are backing a world-class team and look forward to building a valuable stand-alone organization in a market undergoing dramatic change.”

The transaction is expected to be complete by Oct. 31. It is not subject to any formal regulatory or other approvals.

SOURCE: The Weekly Propane Newsletter, October 15, 2020. Weekly Propane Newsletter subscribers receive all the latest posted and spot prices from major terminals and refineries around the U.S. delivered to inboxes every week. Receive a center spread of posted prices with hundreds of postings updated each week, along with market analysis, insightful commentary, and much more not found elsewhere.