Macquarie to acquire Iberdrola’s UK smart meters business

Macquarie Specialised and Asset Finance (Macquarie), part of Macquarie Group’s Commodities and Global Markets business, has signed an agreement with Iberdrola for the purchase of its UK smart meters business, SP Smart Meters Asset Limited (SPSMAL) for approximately £900 million (approximately €1,060 million or $A1,850 million).

Upon completion of the sale, Macquarie will enter a long-term meter rental agreement to provide Smart Meter Asset Provision (MAP) services to Scottish Power and support the business in the further roll-out of smart meters across Great Britain.

The transaction is subject to customary adjustments and regulatory clearances and is expected to complete in Q3 2025.

The acquisition will add around 2.7 million meters to Macquarie’s portfolio in the UK, meaning it will manage over 13 million meters nationwide.  Macquarie is currently one of the largest independent MAPs in the UK.  Established in 2003 its meters business currently manages over 10 million meters in total, including 7.9 million smart meters and 2.5 million traditional meters, across Great Britain.  It has also provided over £1.5 billion of funding to assist with Britain’s smart meter rollout.

Julian Liddy, Senior Managing Director, Macquarie Specialised and Asset Finance, said: “Having played an active role in the roll out of more than 7.5 million smart meters to British households and businesses, this transaction provides an opportunity for us to add further scale and continue to drive progress towards UK government targets and bring benefits to British electricity and gas consumers. We are pleased to be taking ownership of a business with a track record of strong performance under the management of Scottish Power and look forward to supporting its further growth.”

The replacement of traditional gas and electricity meters with smart meters represents an upgrade to energy infrastructure in the UK by providing consumers with near-real time information which they can use to manage their energy use and cut their bills. Smart meters also support the transition to a low-carbon energy system by unlocking new approaches to managing demand.

At the end of 2024, 38 million smart meters had been installed in British homes and small businesses under the Smart Metering Implementation Programme, led by the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero, regulated by the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem), and delivered by energy suppliers.¹

1. Smart Meter Statistics in Great Britain: Quarterly Report to end December 2024 - View report