Sheffield Green on the hunt for acquisitions in wind power maintenance as it diversifies beyond manpower

[SINGAPORE] Sheffield Green, a human resources provider for the clean energy sector, is looking into acquisitions related to the operations and maintenance of wind power infrastructure and other opportunities.

The company wants to diversify its revenue sources – while continuing to eye a spinoff listing of its training business in the coming years – its chief executive Bryan Kee told The Business Times.

“From day one after we got listed, our objective has been to diversify our income, because we don’t want to solely rely on manpower,” he said.

To build a revenue stream in operations and maintenance, Sheffield is in “advanced discussions” to acquire a majority stake in a company within Asia, and also in talks with several similar players in Europe.

“The intention is to acquire at least two or three of them, and then we merge them together. We (can) expand our geographical coverage and also increase the revenue from this business stream,” he said.

Kee added that such revenue would be recurring, as wind turbines require constant maintenance to operate for 15 to 20 years.

Based in Singapore, Sheffield specialises in providing manpower and training for the renewable energy sector, especially for wind power. It has a presence in Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Poland and Spain.

The company was spun off from oil and gas recruiter Sheffield Energy and listed on the Singapore Exchange’s Catalist board in 2023.

Its training arm – rebranded as Trainergy in April – offers courses accredited by the Global Wind Organisation (GWO) and the Offshore Petroleum Industry Training Organisation (Opito).

It has a training facility in Taiwan launched in the first half of 2025 and another in Spain that it acquired in June last year.

Potential training spin-off

Sheffield is also looking into acquisition opportunities related to the manpower business and Trainergy. The latter could undergo a spin-off listing in the next two to three years, “once we have acquired enough training companies out there”, he said.

These deals could be funded by a mix of cash and bank financing, “so that we can do more acquisitions to grow the company faster”, said Kee. Sheffield has US$6 million in cash and no borrowings as of end-June.

The company had previously explored the acquisition of UK-based training solutions provider Advanced Blade Repair Services, but eventually did not reach a deal.

Kee is looking out for companies that have their finances in order, and that can help grow profit.

Sheffield most recently posted a 51.3 per cent rise in net profit for FY2026 ended June, to USS$1.5 million.

This came on the back of a nearly 20 per cent rise in revenue to US$23.2 million, due to greater demand from existing clients and the addition of new ones. Some US$20 million of the company’s topline came from its core human resources provision business.

That said, Trainergy is a fast-growing contributor. Revenue from the training business grew over seven times to US$1.7 million in FY2026, from US$209,443 in the year-ago period.

The training facility in Spain, in particular, saw profit rise by over 300 per cent on Sheffield’s investments in business development, Kee said.

With acquisitions potentially driving growth, Kee hopes to increase dividends over the next few years.

The company proposed a final dividend of S$0.003 per share for FY2026, bringing its total dividend payout for the year to S$0.005 per share.

Expansion in South Korea, Malaysia

Sheffield is also investing in new training facilities with partners across Asia.

The company is in the midst of setting up a training facility for GWO-related courses in South Korea, where it has partnered with a local player and secured an anchor client. It aims for the facility to start operations next year.

Another key effort is a joint venture for a new training centre in Sarawak, Malaysia.

The facility would train manpower not just for offshore wind farms abroad, but also for Malaysia’s domestic oil and gas sector. This makes Malaysia potentially a bigger market for training than Taiwan, Kee noted.

However, it is not sufficient to only offer GWO and Opito courses. Kee cites the need to differentiate from competitors, emphasising that “we do not want to be the number 1,001” offering the same set of certifications.

“It becomes like you’re selling a commodity, and it’s not good for our revenue because then it becomes a price war when there’s no differentiation,” he said.

Clean energy tailwind

Sheffield has thus been exploring collaborations with manufacturers in the clean power sector, to offer training to install or maintain certain components

In March, Sheffield inked a memorandum of understanding with a unit of wind turbine manufacturer Vestas. Both companies are exploring cooperation on training services for Vestas personnel in Taiwan and potentially elsewhere in Asia-Pacific.

Sheffield’s growth drive comes as the Middle East conflict “has created an opportunity for the renewable energy industry,” Kee said, noting that even oil producer Oman is pushing for wind energy.

The company’s key market of Taiwan remains “stable” in the wake of the conflict. “They will continuously have projects for offshore wind for maybe the next five to 10 years,” he added.

But some developments remain to be watched. On Aug 24, Sheffield disclosed that its Taiwanese unit is facing an investigation under the local employment law.

The investigation involves alleged discrepancies between the actual work assigned and the job descriptions in the employment contracts of two Indonesian workers.

Future opportunities

Beyond Taiwan and South Korea, Kee expects “the next boom” in offshore wind to be in Japan from 2030. This is even though Mitsubishi Corp withdrew from three Japanese offshore wind power projects last year over cost concerns.

Kee highlighted that despite the setback, the Japanese government has since announced more support measures for the offshore wind sector.

There could also be new opportunities with the development of floating wind farms – where wind turbines are not fixed to the sea bed, but on floating platforms. Prospects remain distant, however, given the high costs.

While Sheffield is casting a wide net on growth opportunities, Kee emphasised that it seeks to stay profitable. He said: “Profit is the one that can pay.”