Azets advises on the sale of Emsys Maritime to VPS

Azets has advised VPS, a global marine fuel testing advisory company owned by Fremman Capital, to acquire Emsys Maritime, a real-time emissions measurement company based in Altrincham.

Azets provided corporate finance and tax advice to the company’s shareholders and directors. However, the financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

VPS is known to test marine fuels and lubricating oils, producing high quality, reliable analytical data with further expert interpretation and advice, helping ship operators to run their vessels efficiently, optimising fuel costs and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Emsys Maritime customer base includes “world’s leading” shipyards and ship operators. The technology used by Emsys is supported by a digital data platform which provides “unique” insights into the vessels real-time environmental profile allowing operators to “maximise efficiency” whilst maintaining regulatory compliance.

The purchase of Emsys Maritime will help VPS to expand its portfolio of digital decarbonization services and respond to the steadily rising demand from maritime clients.

Azets advised the shareholders of Emsys Maritime led by corporate finance partner Tim Mills and supported by Andrew Thompson and Niamh Scurr. Tax advice was provided by Sinead Watson.

Mills and Reeve provided legal advice to the Emsys Maritime shareholders. The team, which was led by partner Chris Ross, included Maya Parmar and Samantha Liptrott.

Mills said: “It has been a pleasure to work closely with the shareholders and directors at Emsys Maritime and with Chris Ross at Mills and Reeve to complete the deal, as well as the team at VPS, who have been extremely professional throughout. We wish the team all the best in their next exciting chapter with Emsys Maritime and VPS.”

Dr Malcolm Cooper, CEO of VPS, added: “In Emsys Maritime, we have acquired a company with a strong technical capability and excellent reputation, helping us to deliver our ambition to be the leading service provider in fuel performance optimisation and emissions reduction.

Simon Brown, founder and managing director of Emsys Maritime, said: “Emsys Maritime was established to provide the maritime industry with the most accurate and reliable emissions measurement tools to enable ship operators to manage their environmental and regulatory requirements and goals.

“The acquisition by VPS allows Emsys Maritime to accelerate its already strong growth into new market areas and customer sectors. The integration of our real-time data into the VPS digital decarbonisation platform will create an industry leading portal which will help the wider shipping community on its journey towards net zero.”