Cork-headquartered climate action sustainability business is taking on America after successful MBO.
A recent financing deal has given consulting firm Climeaction the wind beneath its sales to pursue a recent MBO and expand into the US.
Since the financing to enable the MBO from Leading Edge, its former parent firm, Climeaction has also secured a €2.3m investment from the Davy EIIS fund.
“The team at Bank of Ireland really stood by us. They helped us showcase our strengths – a solid customer base, good cash reserves, strong profit margins, and the promising future of our business in the current market”
The MBO was led by Paul Murphy who co-founded the climate action business alongside a management team comprising Jerry Murphy, Annie Duffy, Paul Kealy and Tim Cramer.
Climeaction is a multi-award-winning climate action solutions provider that works with business clients to review and focus on their ESG performance. Its management team has more than 50 years’ experience working with high calibre clients.
An era of growth and innovation
It recently emerged that the Irish climate action solutions provider is expanding its operations to the United States, establishing a permanent base in Boston with a team of 10 people.
This expansion reflects the company’s significant growth and will enable Climeaction to continue to support key multinational clients in the US manufacturing industry including Analog Devices, Abbott, Garrett Motion, and Aryzta.
Climeaction CEO Paul Murphy said the buyout and subsequent funding round represents a new era of growth and innovation for the business.
“After carefully considering several options for financing our share buyout, our advisors suggested we talk to the Bank of Ireland. They’ve been with us since the beginning, and working with them seemed like a smart move to keep our independence,” Murphy explained.
“From the moment I met Gerry and Brian at the Bank of Ireland, I felt confident they’d help us find the right financial solution. They really understood what we were about, shared our vision, and seemed optimistic about being able to assist us.
“Our company is relatively young, just over two years old, so getting a big loan wasn’t going to be easy. But the team at Bank of Ireland really stood by us. They helped us showcase our strengths – a solid customer base, good cash reserves, strong profit margins, and the promising future of our business in the current market.
“With some fine-tuning of our business plan and helpful guidance, we managed to get our loan approved. It was a huge morale boost for everyone at the company, knowing that the Bank of Ireland believed in us. More importantly, it meant we could stay independent and make our own decisions about the future of the business.
“This first step with the Bank of Ireland has been a game-changer for us. It’s given us the courage to aim higher, and we’ve since secured a €2.3m investment from the Davy EIIS fund. This is going to help us expand into the US market and invest in new areas like digital and capital projects.
The strategic sale of the business from former owner Leading Edge will give the latter the ability to invest in its core business offerings, including investing in new digital products and expanding its management consulting offering as well as expand in the Canadian market.
Gerry Nolan, business relationship manager within Bank of Ireland’s Business Banking Origination Team, said the bank was delighted to support Paul Murphy in securing the 100% shareholding in Climeaction.
He said the business aligned neatly with the bank’s focus on responsible and sustainable business.
“I was delighted to work closely with Paul and his advisors on his MBO for Climeaction. The vision, structure and plan for the future of the business will benefit us all.
“Paul’s passion shines through his engagements and that is also evident within his team members. The business application, through development of digital products and service streams will enhance users greatly, which will support them on this invaluable journey, achieving their plans to decarbonise them on this invaluable journey.
“I expect to see Climeaction, through Paul’s guidance, continue to grow not just within the ROI/UK market, become a stable market leader within the environmental, social and governance industry,” added Nolan.
Susie Crawford,head of Sustainability at Bank of Ireland, also commented: “I’m delighted to see our customer leading in this space and supported by Bank of Ireland to scale their important work in decarbonisation. Climeaction’s recent B Corp certification demonstrates their commitment to sustainability and creating positive impacts for stakeholders.”
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