Law firm Thrings has been praised for its “unwavering support” by the founder of a West of England specialist drilling firm for its role in selling a division of the business to a recognised leader in its industry.
ADP Group’s geothermal business was sold to Rendesco in a move that will give it end-to-end delivery of clean heat networks, a process that is set to dramatically reduce the cost to developers and residents alike. 
Headquartered in Wickwar, South Gloucestershire, ADP Group has been trading in the agricultural and civil engineering industries since 1983 and has specialised in providing sub-contracted drilling and vacuum excavation operations since 2007.
Rendesco, which is based in Cheltenham, develops, builds, operates and provides access to funding for geothermal networks, combined with ground source heat pump technology, to decarbonise heating, hot water and cooling.
Its acquisition of ADP’s geothermal drilling division follows a £6m fundraising by Rendesco.
The firm, regarded as a leader in the heat network industry, is designing and installing the UK’s largest water-source heat network at Welborne Garden Village in Hampshire, which will provide clean heat, hot water and cooling for 6,000 new homes.
ADP Group founder and director Adrian Page said: “The sale of our geothermal division represents an exciting new chapter for both the geothermal division under Rendesco’s leadership and the continued growth of ADP Group’s GI division. 
“We are very grateful to Thrings for their unwavering support from the outset of this process, which has been invaluable, helping us to position ourselves well for the future.”
Thrings’ team was headed by partner Simon Hore, pictured, who led on all legal aspects of the deal for ADP, with associate Conor Melvin providing support on corporate matters and partner Alex Pinhey acting on all related commercial property aspects.
This also included a legal review conducted by Kate Westbrook, who heads Thrings’ commercial team, in contemplation of a possible sale with preparatory work to enable a smooth due diligence exercise with the buyer.
Following the sale, ADP Group will continue to grow its ground investigation operations, with Josh Creed having been appointed managing director, replacing Tom Page who joins Rendesco as head of drilling. Dave Telford also joins the ADP board as operations director.
Simon Hore said: “Having been initially engaged by ADP to carry out a legal review of their business ahead of a potential sale, it was a pleasure to continue working with them throughout the full course of the transaction which helped to ensure an efficient transaction process.
“We wish Tom and his team all the best in their new chapter with Rendesco and look forward to working with Josh and the team at ADP as part of their exciting future.”
The corporate team at Thrings, which has seven offices across the South and West of England – including one in Bristol – is experienced in advising business owners and leaders from start-ups to multinational firms on all stages of the business life cycle.
