Member Article

Industry leader appointed to drive success of Durham coal giant’s newly-launched energy subsidiary

Hargreaves Services, the Durham-based mining and bulk material logistics firm, has launched a new subsidiary to oversee the development and potential spin-off of its energy project interests.

Brockwell Energy Limited will be led by Alex Lambie as CEO, supported by Iain Cockburn, the group’s Finance Director, who will step down from the Hargreaves board once a suitable replacement has been identified.

In a statement released this morning, the Hargreaves Board described the launch as an ‘exciting opportunity’ to use its projects and assets as the platform upon which to build an integrated energy business.

Brockwell’s mandate in the UK will therefore include onshore wind, solar PV, EfW and flexible technologies including gas and energy storage.

Who is Brockwell CEO Alex Lambie?

Over his 40-year career, Alex most notably held the position of majority shareholder and Non-Executive Chairman at Welsh Power Group Ltd, where he built the company into an integrated energy business with an enterprise value exceeding £1 billion from an initial investment of just £38 million.

This involved raising fresh funding and developing new operations, such as backing the MBO of Uskmouth Power and raising £650 million for the construction of a major 850 MW CCGT development.

Alex finally sold his controlling interest in Welsh Power Group in November 2015. Prior to Welsh Power Group, Alex led the highly successful European expansion and risk diversification strategy for Spain’s largest electricity company, Endesa, investing over €5 billion of equity to acquire and develop businesses in Italy, France, the Netherlands, Portugal and Morocco.

He also led the turnaround of Dawson’s US business operations, returning the lossmaking company strongly back to profit in less than 18 months. He was also responsible for the first ever international fuel procurement deal in the UK, delivering a £2bn contract for National Power Plc to counteract the lack of competition in the home market.

In addition to fulfilling his role as Group Finance Director, Iain Cockburn has been responsible for the development of the group’s energy interests over the past two years.

In view of the significance of the strategic opportunity for the group represented by the group’s portfolio of energy projects, Iain has agreed to join Brockwell on a permanent basis as Chief Financial Officer.

Iain will remain in his post as Hargreaves Group plc’s Finance Director until a replacement has been found and an orderly handover undertaken.

David Morgan, Chairman of Hargreaves, commented: “Exciting progress continues to be made in developing value in our energy projects.

“The formation of Brockwell Energy creates an opportunity to raise the specialist capital and create the partnerships necessary to enable the group to extract maximum value across the entire portfolio of energy projects whilst allowing the group to control the level of any investment and to focus on cash generation and the continuing simplification and development of the group.”

Alex Lambie, Chief Executive Officer of Brockwell, added: “Since first engaging with Hargreaves to advise on the development of its energy projects, I have been struck by the quality of the project portfolio and the drive and professionalism of the team that has been assembled within the group to develop and manage these projects.

“Together, the projects and the team offer the opportunity to create significant value from the current project portfolio and provide a strong platform to develop a larger business focused on the development and delivery of energy projects across a balanced portfolio of technologies. I am delighted to be tasked with leading the team and excited by the opportunities that lie ahead.”