Leven Energy Services provides a range of engineering and utility services including mains replacement, underground cabling and overhead line management.

The firm had sales of £36.6m in 2014 and employs 139 satff its head office in Manchester and five satellite depots across the UK.

James Thoden van Velzen, CEO of SPIE UK,said: “This acquisition is the next step forward after the creation of SPIE ENS two years ago when we entered into the power line contracting market.

“Since then we have been involved in some very exciting projects – including the recently reported network renovation with Northern Ireland Electricity.

“We are looking forward to developing our reach further and becoming one of the biggest players in the utility sector.”

Leven’s client base includes National Grid, Northern Gas Networks, Electricity North West and Scottish & Southern Energy.

Around 57% of its business generated from electricity works and it recently signed an 8-year contract with Electricity North West for underground cable works up to 33kV.

The remaining 43% of Leven’s business is split between the gas and water sectors.

SPIE’s Managing Director for Industrial Services, Steven Nanda said: “SPIE and Leven have very similar work ethics and culture, we both place a primary focus on building long-term relationships with our stakeholders and are committed to delivering a superior service delivered to the highest standards of health and safety.

“Introducing Leven into the SPIE portfolio makes perfect sense and strategically, we are two companies with the same goals in mind.”

Stuart Fraser, Managing Director, Leven, added: “We are all looking forward to the next chapter in the development of Leven and working alongside SPIE in the future.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for everyone involved, including our independent and combined customers, to benefit from the positive effect of our collective reach, knowledge and expertise.”

The new combined entity of SPIE ENS and Leven will be trading as SPIE Distribution & Transmission.