Chelys Buys Energis's UK Biz

LONDON -- Chelys, a company chaired by Archie Norman and majority owned by a consortium of leading financial institutions, has acquired the UK business of Energis plc and is to invest in its future.Chelys will inject £150m of cash into Energis to finance the development of the business which has continued to trade strongly. In the last quarter it won new sales orders valued at more than £41 million, including contracts with Virgin Mobile and Eurostar.Chelys will trade under the Energis name and is now one of the best-capitalised telecom companies in the United Kingdom. In addition to the £150m of new equity capital, Chelys has secured seven year non amortising bank facilities a significant proportion of which have cash interest payments deferred."This is a business with very strong customer support and committedemployees. When approached I said I would be keen to help but only if there was financial security for the business and the prospect of building a great team. Chelys delivers both and provides an opportunity to rebuild a strong business for the customers, employees and investors," said Archie Norman.A spokesperson for the financial institutions said: "The substantial investment we are making in Energis' UK operations demonstrates our belief in the business. We are sure that this will give Chelys, its employees and customers confidence in the success of its business model."Energis PLC