Hometree, a rapidly growing residential energy services company, announced it had secured its first debt facility from funds and accounts managed by BlackRock. This is a major step in its mission to support the decarbonization of millions of homes across the UK.
This facility will acquire renewable energy installation businesses and support Hometree’s move to offer a whole-of-life solution. Providing hardware installation, financing, repairs, and ongoing maintenance will make the transition to renewable energy simpler and more affordable for homeowners.
Launched in 2015, Hometree has become a leading UK challenger brand in residential energy services. And with an initial focus on home emergency breakdown and insurance, Hometree expanded into renewable installations and financing, positioning itself to become a key partner for homeowners looking for low-carbon home energy solutions.
Now, it has over 100,000 customers who rely on Hometree to keep their homes running smoothly with emergency heating, plumbing, electrical repairs, and maintenance plans delivered by its nationwide network of over 5,000 multi-trade engineers and installers. Plus, through its Hometree Finance division, Hometree has the most extensive portfolio of residential heat, solar, and battery leases in the UK. It finances and owns the assets so homeowners can benefit from lower energy bills without the upfront installation cost.
With demand expected to surge for renewable energy installations, Hometree is in a prime position to drive the change from gas boilers to heat pumps and other renewable forms of technology across the UK. As the UK phases out gas boilers in new homes by 2035, many consumers have been investing in renewable energy sources to power their homes, including heat pumps, solar panels, and electric batteries.
With targets set to have 600,000 heat pumps installed by 2028, Hometree is capitalizing on this requirement for renewables by acquiring two leading regional installation companies: GeoWarmth Heat Pumps and The Little Green Energy Company. This brings the total number of companies Hometree has acquired to seven.
The two companies have installed around 12,500 renewable systems into homes across the UK over the last ten years, employ 55 people, and have a combined £15 million in revenues and £2.5 million EBITDA in the most recent financial year. The companies will gain access to Hometree’s customer base, its suite of financing products, and insurance services to deliver even more value to their customers. Meanwhile, the acquisitions will enable Hometree to bolster its engineering force and re-train more of its 5,000 engineers to install, repair, and maintain renewables – a key consideration given that reports have suggested that the country needs 30,000 heat pump installers to meet its ambitious targets.
Since it was founded, Hometree has raised over £85 million in funding. With this most recent debt facility from BlackRock, Hometree is backed by Legal & General Capital along with a range of leading specialist energy investors, including Energy Impact Partners, Inven Capital, and 2150.
KEY QUOTES:
“To be able to secure financing from BlackRock to support our M&A program is a fantastic boost and shows we’re on the right track towards achieving our ultimate aim of building Europe’s leading residential energy services company. Our mission has always been to support homeowners to decarbonize their homes, and this additional funding gives us the capacity to increase our scale at pace through M&A.”
“We are incredibly excited to be partnering with the founders and management teams of two exceptional renewable installation companies and look forward to helping them scale their companies significantly. If the UK is to achieve its net zero ambition, we will need an army of installers right across the country and we’re committed to bringing together these skills, supported by financing and in-life repair and maintenance services, to make Hometree the first choice for homeowners who want to do the right thing by the planet.”
- Hometree Founder & CEO Simon Phelan
“This new debt facility will support the company in scaling up its plan to manage all aspects of sustainable homeownership and give our clients exposure to an innovative, growing business.”
- Tim Fenwick, Director at BlackRock Venture & Growth Lending
“I’m immensely proud of the progress we have made in the past 17 years to become a recognized installer of low-carbon energy solutions. I am delighted we are now part of Hometree, which will allow us to reach more people and help more homes transition to renewable energy.”
- John Withers, CEO of Geowarmth
“Our mission has always been to help businesses and homes to transition to solar panels and battery storage, reducing the impact on the planet. Working with Hometree will help us achieve that on a much larger scale, enabling more homes to join the green renewable energy revolution.”
- Simon Dudson, CEO of The Little Green Energy Company
