Swedish company AFRY, a European leader in engineering, design, and advisory services, has announced the acquisition of Ionic Consulting. The deal concluded on July 1.

Ionic Consulting is one of the leading renewable electricity consultancy firms in Ireland, with over 60% market share. The company is a leader in the onshore wind market and has a growing presence in offshore wind, solar PV and energy storage.

Ionic Consulting has 42 employees across three offices, Dublin, Listowel and Edinburgh. Incorporated in 2005, Iconic Consulting Ltd was known as Wind Prospect Ireland until 2017.

The company was owned equally by directors Ken Boyne (54) and Brendan Heneghan (48). Their joint remuneration in 2020 was €268,000 and the two shareholders also shared €375,000 in dividends.

The company's year-end trade debtors and prepayments amounted to €1.4m. Period-end creditors were €1.4m, and company net worth in December 2020 was €1.1m

In Association with

Managing director Ken Boyne commented: “Becoming part of the AFRY family is a hugely exciting next chapter in the Ionic story. This will enable us to expand and enhance the service offering to our existing clients and add value to AFRY and their clients in new ways.

“This is also an endorsement of the achievements of our talented staff over many years and will allow them to develop and grow in a people-focused and supportive environment."

Peter Plug, head of renewables at AFRY, stated: “This acquisition is important to achieving AFRY’s strategic clean energy ambition and provides AFRY with a strong position in Ireland and further grows our presence in the UK market.

“Together with the Ionic Consulting team, AFRY will continue to deliver sustainable solutions and support our clients in the energy transition.

Ionic was advised on the deal by law firm Fieldfisher.

Head of Corporate and Commercial Feilim O'Caoimh commented: "Having acted as Ionic Consulting's main legal providers for the past five years, we were thrilled to work with them on this exciting next step in the firm's growth.

“In transactions of such significance for our clients, we work hard to ensure each aspect proceeds as smoothly as possible, and were delighted to support Ionic Consulting in completing this transaction."

The Fieldfisher team included senior associate Conor Folan, trainee solicitor Rosha Canavan and employment partner Barry Walsh.