eLight, a company which provides lighting as a service, has acquired British counterpart Energy Works and the merged entity has been rebranded as eLight Works, with a combined turnover of more than €13m.

eLight Works will have its head office in Malahide, Co Dublin, and branch offices in London. The company expects the combined workforce of 40 to double over the coming 12 months.

Providing ‘Light as a Service' (LaaS) is a channel that has opened up on account of the large capital cost of changing lighting systems in workplaces, whether in industry or in services. Lighting is a significant business cost and traditional lighting equipment can be highly inefficient, generating higher costs than are necessary, but the cost transitioning to efficient, LED-based lighting is often a disincentive to installing sustainable lighting. 

eLight says its model “makes it easy for businesses to reduce their energy costs by between 60% and 75%”. eLight carries 100% of the capital cost of the “design, supply, installation, operation and maintenance of energy-efficient lighting projects over an agreed contract term, with the energy savings achieved completely funding the project”. There is no requirement for up-front capital from the business adopting the technology.

The new group is the largest LaaS company in Europe, with over 600 completed projects, generating over €60m in energy savings for clients and reducing carbon emissions by more than 23 million kilograms.

In Association with

Ireland managing director Ian McKenna said: “We are delighted to conclude this merger, which will open up new opportunities for our business to grow exponentially. We are bringing together the strengths of two leading LaaS companies in the UK and Ireland.

“eLight Ireland developed the Light as a Service concept in 2012 and eLight Works are leaders in developing the model in the UK. This merger will increase our ability to access capital, meaning that we can deliver this service for our growing client base.”

UK managing director Harvey Sinclair added: “We have invested £10m developing the business in the UK since 2014 and are perfectly positioned to scale and grow in the UK market with the eLight LaaS model. We are particularly excited by the potential for cooperation and growth in a post-Brexit environment.”

The company works with Actavo in Ireland and provides Philips LED lighting products in its installations which, it says, “require no up-front capital outlay and result in lower operating costs”.