Skipton-based Optima is acquired by Australian-listed BidEnergy in £6.4m deal

The acquisition will see Australian-listed firm BidEnergy expand its presence in the UK.

Managing director and Optima Energy Systems’ founder, Steve Wright, will remain with the business alongside its management team.

The deal is expected to support BidEnergy’s expansion plans in Europe, with the business earmarking UK opportunities for growth.

Founded in 1988, Optima provides software to help large end users and energy consultants analyse and manage energy data and usage.

Its shareholders were advised by Chris Archer and Greg Carr at FRP in Leeds and Paul Johnson and Emma Wilson of the Leeds office at Mills & Reeve.

Steve Wright, managing director at Skipton-headquartered Optima, said: “BidEnergy is a natural home for the Optima business going forward.

“We share a customer focused ethos of delivering innovative software solutions and the combined business will have a global presence to deliver a market leading platform for all aspects of utility bill management and carbon and sustainability reporting.

“I’m looking forward to working with the BidEnergy team as we move into 2021 and beyond.”

Chris Archer, of FRP, added: “The UK represents a concentrated energy market five times larger than Australia’s, making the business an ideal candidate for an international buyer like Bid-Energy.”