Connells snap up national energy assessor firm

News Category: Industry News

Connells have bought a very large energy assessor firm, Vibrant Energy Matters.

The deal, which was not publicly announced, completed towards the end of July for an undisclosed sum.

Vibrant Energy Matters was formed last November after the merger of Green Energy Matters and Vibrant Energy.

Clients are in both the residential and commercial sectors, and include estate agents, letting agents, landlords, and local authorities.

The merger positioned the company as the largest independent provider of EPCs and related energy services, with over 100 staff and the capacity to complete over 100,000 EPCs a year.

A spokeswoman for Connells said: “VEM was already a major supplier to us and Connells wanted to drive economies of scale and higher volumes for both parties.

“The deal is mutually beneficial and will give both parties more business and extend our reach in areas like social housing.”

The price of EPCs has been driven steadily downwards – to the anger of Domestic Energy Assessors, who are now offered as little as £15 to complete them – but they are likely to become increasingly big business under the Government’s Green Deal programme, due to be implemented in 2012.

Many thousands of homes – not just those on the market for sale and rent – will undergo energy audits.

At the same time, it is highly likely that EPCs will become a more important part of the sales process, with buyers of energy inefficient homes being penalised by higher Stamp Duty.


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