Salisbury: Blake Morgan delivers energy meter deal

Law firm Blake Morgan has advised the shareholders of specialist meter asset provider Utility Funding (UFL) on the sale of the company to Foresight Metering.

Lawyers from the firm’s corporate, commercial, regulatory, banking, employment, built environment and tax teams advised UFL founder Hugh Mullens and other shareholders on the sale.

UFL, based in Salisbury and set up by Mullens in 2009, is a trusted provider of MAP services, and owns and rents more than 150,000 advanced and smart meters to 53 suppliers of electricity and gas across the UK.

Mullens said: “Blake Morgan were a crucial part of the team, securing the successful sale of the company, from the initial planning and preparation of the data room to thinking through the key contractual issues and drafting the relevant documentation and negotiating the final documents.

“It was a thoroughly-professional performance as one would expect, and the Blake Morgan team delivered in all respects.”

London-based Foresight Group has worked closely with UFL for more than four years, with UFL acting as an outsourced provider of meter administration services since Foresight launched its own meter asset provider service, Foresight Metering, earlier this year.

The acquisition of UFL represents the next logical step for both businesses, driving the smart meter rollout opportunity in the UK together.

James Hawkeswood, head of Blake Morgan’s South Coast corporate team and lead lawyer on the transaction, said: “It is always great to be able to help one of the region's standout companies through such a critical and transformational time for the business.”