Global professional services organisation, Lloyd’s Register Group (LR), 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 agreement follows a comprehensive review of LR’s business portfolio and strategic direction.

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 Chief Executive Officer, 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 realise 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, said: 
“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 standalone business, offering our full suite of technical, regulatory and operational expertise. Our purpose is to help clients manage risk and maximise 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 said: 
“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 standalone organisation in a market undergoing dramatic change.”

The transaction is expected to complete on or before the 31st October 2020 and is not subject to any formal regulatory or other approvals.

KeyFacts Energy Industry Directory: Lloyd’s Register