This Research Note examines what’s behind the Dalkia UK rebranding of several businesses owned by Electricite de France (EDF).

Dalkia, a leading technical and energy services company in the UK, is aligning the Imtech Engineering Services, Inviron, Breathe Energy and SPIE UK activities as Dalkia UK. With approximately 4,000 employees, the group reports over £600 million in revenues.

Acquisitions in recent years under the EDF Energy Services/Imtech umbrella have enabled these 4 companies to retain their operational autonomy and brands, before the July 2023 announcement.

Bringing together the group’s capabilities in Engineering, Facilities and Energy Services as Dalkia is intended to increase market visibility and strengthen its commitment to support energy transition and net zero objectives in the UK.

Dalkia UK Companies Aligning

Imtech was acquired by EDF Energy Services in June 2017. At that time, Imtech employed more than 2,100 people, generating revenues of over £400 million per year delivering mechanical and electrical engineering services, technical facilities management, and energy services. Revenue grew in 2021 by just over a quarter to £562 million, generating a modest pre-tax profit of £3.9 million, after its £27 million loss in the previous year. Most of the growth came from engineering services where revenue jumped by over £100 million to £400 million in the year. Imtech serves clients in a broad range of sectors including Healthcare, Defence and Technology.

SPIE UK, a provider of technical facilities management and energy services for the built environment, is the most recent acquisition completed in December 2022. The acquisition will complement and enhance Imtech’s current offering with a range of specialty services in industrial instrumentation, clean rooms, and life safety solutions. It is also aligned with Imtech’s objective to increase its UK operations, to build scale and expand in targeted sectors, such as Education, Industry and Infrastructure. SPIE UK reported a turnover of £200 million in 2021 and a workforce of 1,800 employees.

Inviron, originally spun out of ABB as a provider of technical facilities management services, was acquired by Imtech in 2011. Their 2021 financials show a turnover of £99.3 million, an increase of 26% (2020: 15%), and an EBITDA of £2.4 million (2020 £1.1 million) while retaining 99% of its 100-plus clients for whom it manages more than 2,000 estates. The company reported significant contract wins in the education and healthcare sectors carried out by the firm’s 858 employees at offices and hubs across the UK and Ireland.

Breathe Energy, an energy performance contractor in the public sector, was acquired by Imtech in December 2019. Established in 2010, Breathe delivers engineering solutions to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions, renew infrastructure, save operating costs and improve built environments. Its experience in the UK’s public sector includes the provision of tailored solutions in health, education, local authorities and central government. Breathe Energy reported 2021 turnover of £25.2 million and 56 employees.

In September 2022, as part of their ongoing aim to support the UK’s Net Zero ambitions, Inviron further enhanced its ability to remotely optimise and adjust building systems with the acquisition of the Connect Energy Team and digital platform, from its sister company Breathe.

This rebranding follows a Group-wide strategic review which set out to accelerate Dalkia’s efforts to expand its capability in Net Zero offerings.

This article was written by Daphne Tomlinson, Senior Research Associate at Memoori.