GDF SUEZ Energy Services acquires Utilicom Group and create the largest district energy company in the UK.

GDF SUEZ Energy Services has announced the acquisition of the Utilicom Group*, following a purchase agreement with the IDEX Group for IDEX Energy UK Limited and its subsidiaries. This strategic investment will create COFELY District Energy Ltd, the UK’s largest district energy company.

COFELY District Energy Ltd, which will form part of COFELY’s existing UK Energy Services business stream, will generate 35 MW of low carbon electricity, operate 245 MW of boiler plant, 74 MW of chilled capacity and manage 50 km of district heating and cooling pipework.

COFELY District Energy Ltd will manage a wide range of projects in the UK, including :

- Southampton District Energy Scheme
- Birmingham District Energy Scheme
- London Olympic Park and Stratford City
- The Whitehall CHP scheme

The Utilicom Group and its subsidiaries annually deliver over 33,000 tonnes of CO2 emission reductions, predominantly through combined heat and power (CHP) schemes, meeting the varied heat, cooling and power demands of many of the UK’s most prominent city centres through district energy networks.

Wilfrid Petrie, chairman of GDF SUEZ Energy Services Ltd, commented: “District energy schemes are already making a significant contribution to reducing the UK’s carbon emissions and this is an area that is set to grow rapidly in the coming years. The newly formed COFELY District Energy Ltd will bring together some of the UK’s most exciting and prestigious district energy schemes from the COFELY and Utilicom portfolios. COFELY District Energy Ltd is ideally placed to not only develop the services offered to existing customers but also extend these offerings to a wider customer base. It will also pave the way for COFELY’s further expansion into this rapidly developing sector of the market where across Europe the Group already operates in excess of 110 district energy schemes.”

Alain Planchot, President of IDEX “Our strategy of promoting renewable energy solutions also requires to focus our human and financial resources. We have thus decided to concentrate our development on the French market. I am sure that Utilicom Group will continue its success story, started two decades ago, within its new Group.”

COFELY operates over 110 district heating and cooling systems in Europe, including the cities of Amsterdam, Barcelona, Lisbon, Monaco and Paris. GDF SUEZ Energy Services meets the long-term energy needs of businesses and public authorities thanks to technological know-how that emphasizes renewable energy such as biomass, geothermal energy, waste-to-energy and respect for the environment. Today, GDF SUEZ Energy Services teams design, build and operate district networks, the energy infrastructure of the future, and thus contribute to building the cities of the tomorrow.

* The UK businesses within Utilicom Group include: Utilicom Ltd, Southampton Geothermal Heating Company Ltd, Birmingham District Energy Company Ltd, Bloomsburry Heat & Power Ltd, ICE UK Ltd and Residential Heat & Power Ltd.

COFELY, a GDF SUEZ Company

COFELY is Europe’s leader in energy and environmental efficiency services, designing and implementing solutions to help businesses and public authorities make better use of energy, whilst reducing environmental impacts. COFELY offers a unique combination of service expertise, from the design, installation and management of local & renewable energy solutions, to the operational delivery of integrated facilities services.

COFELY is part GDF SUEZ Energy Services, the European leader in multitechnical services which employs 77,000 people with a turnover of €13.6 billion in 2009. GDF SUEZ Energy Services is one of the six business lines of GDF SUEZ, one of the leading energy providers in the world, active across the entire energy chain in electricity and natural gas, upstream to downstream. The Group employs 200,000 people worldwide, with a turnover of €79.9 billion in 2009.

IDEX

Based in France and established since 1963, IDEX is a major independent Energy Management company. Since its start as an operator of district energy schemes, IDEX activities have widened to offer energy efficiency and multi-technical services over 10,000 sites. The Group employs 3,500 people with a turnover of 520 million €uro in 2009.

Press Contacts :

Niel Scott
COFELY, 46 Loman Street, London SE1 0BA
Tel:               020 7633 2300         020 7633 2300 / Fax: 020 7928 9333
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
www.cofely-gdfsuez.co.uk

Françoise Planchot, Idex sas/ Tel :               + 33(0)1 47 12 42 12         + 33(0)1 47 12 42 12
E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it / www.idex-groupe.com

About GDF SUEZ
One of the leading energy providers in the world, GDF SUEZ is active across the entire energy value chain, in electricity and natural gas, upstream to downstream. It develops its businesses (energy, energy services and environment) around a responsible-growth model to take up the great challenges: responding to energy needs, ensuring the security of supply, fighting against climate change and maximizing the use of resources. GDF SUEZ relies on diversified supply sources as well as flexible and high-performance power generation in order to provide innovative energy solutions to individuals, cities and businesses. The Group employs 200,650 persons worldwide and achieved revenues of €79.9 billion in 2009. GDF SUEZ is listed on the Brussels, Luxembourg and Paris stock exchanges and is represented in the main international indices: CAC 40, BEL 20, DJ Stoxx 50, DJ Euro Stoxx 50, Euronext 100, FTSE Eurotop 100, MSCI Europe and ASPI Eurozone.

Press contact:
Tel France:               +33 (0)1 57 04 24 35         +33 (0)1 57 04 24 35
Tel Belgium:               +32 2 510 76 70         +32 2 510 76 70
E-Mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Investor Relations contact:
Tel:               +33 (0)1 57 04 66 29         +33 (0)1 57 04 66 29
E-Mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Source: http://www.cofely-gdfsuez.co.uk

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