Op2mize LLC has acquired Hope Energy LLC, a fast-growing energy procurement firm. Simultaneous with this acquisition, Op2mize and Hope have launched, and will conduct business as, Op2mize Energy LLC. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed, however all of Hope’s 100-plus accounts are being transitioned to Op2mize Energy.
Op2mize Energy will provide strategic electricity and natural gas procurement consultation and solutions to users and owners of commercial real estate. By guiding such companies through the complex world of energy supply and procurement in deregulated markets such as Illinois, the venture is positioned to significantly reduce what its customers spend on utilities while helping them to mitigate market risk.
Op2mize Energy will be led by James Dunne, who will serve as its president. As Hope’s chief executive, Dunne quickly grew Hope into one of Chicago’s most dynamic energy consultancies, tripling Hope’s revenue in 2012 from 2011. Dunne also has considerable experience as a real estate project manager, developer and investor with prior stints at Pulte Homes/Del Webb and Christopher B. Burke Engineering Ltd.
Dunne said the new venture should gain traction quickly.
“We are immediately different than all of the other energy advisors out there,” he said. “We offer a much wider range of energy services that can be packaged with Op2mize’s other real estate and energy reduction services, and our team is unparalleled. We have engineers, MBAs, CPAs, attorneys and accomplished real estate experts in house, so we can creatively and holistically service any type of requirement regardless of magnitude or complexity.”
Op2mize is a full service real estate company that advises property owners and space users on a ‘total cost’ basis. By aggregating traditional real estate services with best practices in energy-efficiency, sustainability, innovation and technology, Op2mize helps its clients go well beyond the site selection and transaction process to optimize space utilization and control on-going operating costs.
It is this total cost of occupancy, or total cost of ownership approach, coined ‘Sustainable Intelligence™’, which is further enhanced by the Hope acquisition, according to Op2mize’s President and CEO Geoffrey Kasselman.
“One-hundred percent of our past, current and future clients consume space and energy as a bundle, even if they don’t realize it. We’re now positioned to service the full bundle,” he said.