Equistone and Inflexion backed company, UK Power Reserve, awarded BVCA prize

Equistone and Inflexion backed company, UK Power Reserve, has been named ‘Mid-Market Team of the Year in the Midlands’ in the British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association Management Team Awards 2017 produced in association with Grant Thornton UK LLP.

In their ninth year, the Awards recognise and reward brilliant businesses backed by UK private equity and venture capital investors.

UK Power Reserve (UKPR), a leading provider of flexibility services to the electricity market, has an 823MW portfolio of low carbon electricity assets including fast-ramping gas-fired power stations and battery storage capacity.

The Award Judges said: Since being backed by private equity in 2015, Tim Emrich and his team have grown the business by investing in greater efficiency and responding in a fast and entrepreneurial manner to new opportunities. The business is increasing its footprint in the UK, with further potential internationally.

UKPR’s CEO Tim Emrich said: We’re thrilled with this award which marks a true coming of age for UK Power Reserve. It recognises our hard work and ambition to be a leading energy company head quartered in the Midlands with assets across England and Wales. I’d like to thank my team for their commitment to and passion for delivering smart energy assets which are transforming the UK’s energy mix and enabling the country to achieve its security of supply and decarbonisation goals at the same time as delivering true value for consumers.

UK Power Reserve’s Management Team was selected due the impressive growth it has achieved since it was established in 2010, combined with its commitment to the communities in which it operates.

The company has invested in innovative technologies and is spearheading the UK’s shift to a decentralised system in which wind and solar generation is complemented by flexible energy sources like gas-reciprocating engines and battery storage. UKPR has a passionate and proactive approach to growing its portfolio while maintaining robust revenue streams against a challenging backdrop of volatile wholesale and regulatory markets dominated by incumbents like the ‘Big Six’.

UKPR has been awarded long-term government contracts in the capacity market auctions of 2014, 2015 and 2016 which underpin the company’s anticipated Ebitda growth over the next decade. In the 2016 auction the company secured contracts to deliver 120MW of battery storage capacity - making it the biggest independent developer of this type of technology.