What Yorkshire firm's £50m purchase of wind turbine repair company tells us about net zero

Leeds-based engineering services giant Renew has acquired a Dutch firm specialising in repair and maintaining onshore wind turbines for more than £50m.
Renew has announced the purchase of Full Circle Group Holding B.V, a specialist provider of repair, maintenance and monitoring services for onshore wind turbines in the UK and Europe for a total cash consideration of €60.0m (£50.5m).

The move has been funded from Renew’s existing cash resources and banking facilities. It follows the new Labour Government lifting a de facto ban on new onshore wind projects in the planning system in England.

Paul Scott, Chief Executive Officer of Renew, said: “The acquisition of Full Circle represents an exciting opportunity for the Group to enter a high-growth, and fragmented onshore wind services market.

"Full Circle operates a scalable technology-enabled platform across a diverse customer base with existing long-term contracts and a fast-growing brand in the UK and across Europe.

"The company’s proven track record in its core markets, and highly experienced management team mean the business is well positioned to service other turbine technologies and geographies both through acquisition and an organic growth strategy.

“With governments across Europe reaffirming their commitments to achieving Net Zero by 2050, the addition of Full Circle’s industry-leading offering will allow us to play a pivotal role in supporting the green energy transition and benefit from the long-term, non-discretionary funding programmes that underpin it. I am delighted to welcome the Full Circle team to the Renew family.”

Although it is headquartered in Amersfoort in the Netherlands, Full Circle was controlled and owned predominantly by AtlasInvest Holding, the Belgian family holding specialised in the energy sector.

Renew said the deal is expected to be earnings enhancing to the group within the first full year of ownership, with return on invested capital overtaking the purchase price within three years.

It comes after Renew separately announced last week that it was disposing of specialist building business Walter Lilly & Co for a nominal consideration to Size Holdings. It was the last of its specialist building businesses as the group focuses its future on engineering activities.

Full Circle has around 160 workers across the UK and Europe but generates around 75 per cent of its revenue in this country. In 2023 Full Circle generated revenue of €25.8m, adjusted EBITDA €5.4m and adjusted EBIT €4.6m.

Renew CEO Mr Scott has previously told The Yorkshire Post that he sees “enormous” opportunities for the company in major infrastructure projects designed to help the UK achieve net zero in the coming decades.