Domna, a company specialising in home energy efficiency and retrofit services, has announced a £70m majority investment via Leon Capital LLP. The investment includes the simultaneous acquisition of Brierly Hill-based The Warmfront Team and Chorley-based Osmosis ACD.
Established in 2012 by Alexander Hearn, The Warmfront Team specialises in energy efficiency surveying services and works with more than 60 social housing associations in the UK, representing more than 900,000 homes. Located in the West Midlands, the team comprises experienced surveyors who are fully qualified Domestic Energy Assessors and Retrofit Assessors. Much of its work is linked to public retrofit programmes, such as the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) and the Great British Insulation Scheme (GBIS). The group is the largest provider of ECO assessments in UK social housing and serves the private rental and owner-occupied markets.
Alexander Hearn, Founder of The Warmfront Team, said on the acquisition, “I’m thrilled to announce the partnership and transition of the Warmfront team to the Domna Group after 14 incredible years of trading. It was crucial for me to find the right partners who share our vision for a greener future. I have full confidence that the Domna Group will take Warmfront to the next level, continuing our mission to reduce carbon emissions in the UK and make a lasting positive impact on the environment”.
Osmosis ACD is an independent retrofit consultancy specialising in providing PAS (Publicly Available Specifications) 2035-compliant retrofit assessment, coordination, and design to housing associations and local authorities. Much of its work is linked to public retrofit programmes such as the Local Authority Delivery (LAD) scheme and the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF). The leadership team comprises Matthew Ratcliff, Saskia Ratcliff, and Kevin Nicholson, who bring deep technical experience in retrofitting.
In bringing these companies together, the combined leadership team of the Domna group has over 70 years of retrofit and energy efficiency experience and a 65+ team of retrofit professionals across the UK working to PAS2035 standards, with fully accredited Retrofit Assessors, Retrofit Coordinators, and Retrofit Designers.
Anna Moore, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Domna added: “In Leon Capital, Domna has found a forward-thinking partner that shares our commitment to raising the bar for UK housing and, in doing so, to realising the £500+ billion opportunity in UK retrofit. The synergies between Warmfront and Osmosis are clear, and together, we are already proving that retrofitting is not only the right thing to do but also good business. Whether you care about climate change or the standard of living, the need for action on retrofit is urgent, with homes driving 26% of total emissions in the UK and an estimated 6.5 million households living in fuel poverty. This investment allows us to reach more households, offering practical advice and rolling up our sleeves on site to make homes not only more healthy, comfortable, and energy efficient but also more valuable, with retrofits often adding over 20% to valuations”.
The deal was supported by several Midlands-based advisers, including the Dow Schofield Watts corporate finance team in the Midlands, led by partner Harry Walker, alongside Barry Lee and Melanie Lee of Lee Business Advisory, who advised the shareholder of The Warmfront Team. The advisers worked with the Nottingham legal team from Freeth’s, led by John Heaphy and a tax advisory team from Evelyn Partners’ Birmingham office, led by Matt Hughes. Leon Capital was advised by Proskauer (legal), KPMG (FDD) and PWC (Tax).
Christos Lavidas and Jean-Christophe Napoleon Bonaparte, Managing Partners, and Michael Youtsos, partner at Leon Capital, said, “We are thrilled to partner with Anna and the rest of the management team in building a truly tech-enabled service provider for UK residential retrofit. In doing so, we will do our part to help reduce fuel poverty and carbon emissions nationwide. We are grateful for the team’s trust, and our investment only reaffirms Leon Capital as a partner of choice for founder-owned businesses”.
Harry Walker, Corporate Finance Partner at DSW, commented, “Helping to bring together a transaction of this complexity and significance was an exciting challenge that we relished as part of Alex’s advisor team, including DSW, Lee Business Advisory, Freeths and Evelyn Partners. From our perspective, we are delighted to have a happy client and to have facilitated another significant Midlands-built environment transaction and private equity investment into the sector. We wish everyone at the Domna Group all the best in driving their buy-and-build plans forward”.
“Harry brought massive experience to the negotiating table during the sale of my business to private equity. In a hugely complex scenario that had many twists and turns, he used a collaborative approach, combined with deal craft and technical knowledge that got me the best possible result. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend him and the team at DSW Midlands for anyone considering a business sale or PE investment”.
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