Inspired revenue grows as energy crisis stokes business demand

Inspired PLC is a technology-enabled service provider with a market-leading position in energy procurement, utility cost optimisation and sustainability enhancement in the UK and Ireland.

The company has three divisions: Inspired Energy, Inspired ESG and Inspired Software.

Inspired PLC has said it would be prepared to support a potential 81p per share, £129 million cash offer from US private equity group HGGC, marking a sharp escalation in the takeover battle for the energy consultancy.

In a joint statement on Tuesday, Inspired and HGGC confirmed they are in detailed discussions over the proposal, which values the company at a premium to an earlier unsolicited 68.5p bid from Regent Acquisitions. 

Inspired's board has already urged shareholders to reject Regent’s £109 million offer and described HGGC’s approach as a “superior proposal”.

The board said it would be “minded to recommend” a formal bid on the terms currently under discussion, subject to final agreement on other aspects of the offer.

Almost half of Inspired PLC (AIM:INSE) shareholders have opposed Regent Acquisitions' £109 million takeover offer, which the energy advisory specialist says "fundamentally undervalues" the business.

Inspired said that investors controlling 49.15% of its shares had formally signalled they would not accept Regent’s 68.5p-a-share offer, representing only a modest 12% premium to the closing price before the bid.

The board of Inspired PLC (AIM:INSE) has pushed back against what it dubbed an 'opportunistic' £109 million takeover offer from Regent Group, branding the all-cash proposal as significantly undervaluing the energy services and sustainability group.

The 68.5p-per-share offer came without prior engagement, according to Inspired, investors were told.

Energy and sustainability advisor Inspired PLC (AIM:INSE) is a ‘Buy’, according to stockbroker Panmure Liberum, which repeated its recommendation following its recent financial results.

“FY24 results were in line with our expectations, and we maintained our estimates,” the broker said in a note.

With a price target pitched at 150p, Panmure Liberum implies the share could treble in value, from the current market price of 52p.

Inspired PLC (AIM:INSE) chief executive Mark Dickinson speaks to Proactive after publishing the commercial energy and sustainability consultancy's final results for 2022.

Dickinson says that by extrapolating the growth seen over the five years to 2022, Inspired "has the opportunity to double [its] EBITDA over the next five years."