Certek Acquires Wind Turbine Services Market Leader GEV Wind Power
Certek has made a significant investment in GEV Wind Power (“GEV”), the global specialist services provider to the wind energy industry, as it targets further growth opportunities and international expansion. Based in East Yorkshire, England, GEV provides inspection, monitoring, rope-access and maintenance services to on-and offshore wind turbines across the globe. GEV’s client base includes the world’s biggest OEMs and wind farm operators and is the recognised market leader in the blade services niche.
GEV supports its clients through its operational hubs in North America, UK & Europe and Australia, deploying in-field technicians who support the owners of thousands of wind turbines across four continents. The company executes more than 300 individual projects annually with its specialist pool of more than 500 technicians.
Certek is employee owned and was founded in 2024 by David Harrison with a mission to partner with quality businesses that have a strong compliance, safety and regulatory element to their service offering. Prior to Certek, David founded Phenna Group, a successful business in the TIC space. David is supported at Certek by a highly experienced senior team with decades of industry experience. Following its acquisition of GEV, Certek’s group revenue will surpass £100 million on a pro-forma basis with a pipeline of other deals in process.
Certek has strategically partnered with Macquarie Capital Principal Finance (part of Macquarie Group) to help finance the acquisition. Macquarie Group has a strong track record in supporting the growth of the wind energy sector both through direct investment and by providing advisory services to clients seeking to invest in projects.
Certek’s investment will enable GEV to grow across its core markets, continuing to support the transition to a clean energy economy. Certek is backing GEV’s CEO and founder David Fletcher and the existing management team who have led the expansion of the Group into the market leader over the past 15 years.
David Fletcher, CEO of GEV, said: “Our business plays a critical role in supporting the generation of clean energy, as we actively maintain the operational performance of wind turbines and help to reduce downtime. With Certek’s backing, we will continue to increase our support infrastructure for our clients and play an active part in supply chain solutions, focusing on the consistent delivery of quality and safety that our clients demand across all key geographies where we operate.”
In 2019, GEV partnered with Bridges Fund Management, a specialist sustainable and impact investor.
Simon Braham, a partner at Bridges, said: “Wind energy is critical to the transition to a more sustainable future. As a global leader in wind turbine repair and maintenance, GEV plays a critical role in supporting this transition, and we look forward to seeing the business continue to go from strength to strength in the coming years.”
Fletcher added, “I want to thank Bridges Fund Management for their investment in the Group over the past six years, which has enabled us to complete the strategic acquisitions of rotor blade technology solutions provider Wind Power Lab, based in Denmark, and Australia-based wind turbine and at-height safety specialist Rigcom, together with the support of our Chairman, John Leahy, who has expertly guided us during our journey.”
David Harrison, CEO of Certek added “The increasing global demand for low-carbon energy is driving huge investment into wind energy production, creating strong growth opportunities for GEV. This acquisition is a landmark deal for our young but rapidly growing business; we are delighted to welcome GEV to Certek. We believe our partnership will help GEV to realise numerous growth opportunities, backed by our focused, strategic investment approach. We are looking forward to supporting David and the rest of the team as they continue to drive the business forward in the years ahead.”
GEV and the sellers were advised by FRP Corporate Advisory, led by Dave Howes, as corporate finance advisor. Additional advisors included Pinsent Masons (legal support to the shareholders), Squire Patton Boggs (legal support to management), GNEISS Energy (market advisory), Ernst & Young (vendor financial due diligence) and Brinckmann (commercial due diligence).
Certek was advised by Alvarez and Marsal (financial due diligence), Foot Anstey (corporate legal) and Norton Rose Fulbright (debt legal).
GEV Wind Power | https://www.gevwindpower.com/
