British telecoms group Energis took its first step into continental Europe yesterday as it snapped up the wholesale arm of troubled pan-European alliance Unisource. Energis which is linked to Veridian, the Northern Ireland electricity company, is paying around £60 million (€90.7 million) cash for loss-making Unisource Carrier Services.

It expects the deal to be mildly earnings dilutive but boost revenues by about £35 million this year and by over £100 million in 2000/01.