2 minute read - 21st June 2022
Legal & General makes further investment in heat pump maker
Kensa Group, a UK manufacturer and installer of ground source heat pumps, has received a further £8m investment into the company from Legal & General Capital (LGC), bringing LGC’s total investment to £15.7m over two years.
The capital will support the Kensa Group as it continues to scale up and rapidly accelerate the deployment of ground source heat pump technology and heat networks to meet demand, whilst meeting LGC’s ambitions to continue to support the clean energy transition.
Kensa Group and LGC joined forces in April 2020. In the two years since LGC made its initial investment, Kensa Group has been through a period of accelerated growth, with its headcount rising from 70 to 180 employees, and Kensa’s revenue doubling from £15.5m to £31.5m.
Legal & General has made a further £8m investment in Kensa Group, a manufacturer and installer of ground source heat pumps / Picture: Kensa Group
Kensa Group’s manufacturing facility increased its production by 150% during the pandemic, breaking records for the number of ground source heat pumps made in the UK, and is working towards a further twofold increase in capacity by 2023.
Kensa Group CEO, Dr Matthew Trewhella, said: “This second investment from Legal & General Capital cements the successful partnership we have built together these past two years and marks a major milestone in the development of Kensa’s ground source heat pump solutions.
“The whole heat pump supply chain, including Kensa, will have to expand dramatically to meet the UK’s 2028 heat pump installation target. This investment will allow us to significantly step up our efforts in areas such as R&D and operations, as we continue to prepare for further rapid growth.”
The Climate Change Committee and the government’s Heat and Buildings Strategy made clear that low carbon heat pumps are a key component in the UK’s journey to zero carbon and can reduce an average household’s fuel bill by up to 27%, saving them approximately £261pa.
Both the Climate Change Committee and the government have ambitions for the UK to install 600,000 heat pumps per year by 2028. To date, between 30,000 to 40,000 pumps are installed annually.
John Bromley, head of clean energy at LGC, added: “We invest our capital in clean energy assets, businesses and technologies which will help accelerate the UK’s progress to a low-cost, low-carbon economy. Our partnership with Kensa is delivering at pace and this further investment in Kensa will enable the business to continue to scale up, bringing vital capacity to the sector. We are delighted to continue to support a business which is playing a major role in the transition to low carbon heating in the UK, whilst supporting significant job creation in the low carbon sector.”