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Retrofit firm buys two social housing contractors after securing £70m investment
A retrofit company has acquired two contractors after securing £70m in private equity investment.
Domna has bought surveying firm The Warmfront Team and contractor Osmosis ACD, both of which work mostly on retrofit programmes for social landlords.
The acquisitions were enabled after Domna received a majority investment by London-based private equity firm Leon Capital. Under the deal, Domna is expected to be able to draw down up to £70m.
Domna, formerly called Hestia, provides stock assessment software and on-site retrofit services to social housing and private rented portfolios.
It was founded in 2023 by ex-McKinsey partner Anna Moore, ex-British Land strategy executive Chenai Gondo and Khalim Conn-Kowlessar.
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Domna said it was enacting a “buy-and-build” strategy to scale up its operations quickly. Following the two acquisitions, it now has 65 retrofit professionals working to PAS 2035 standard, alongside retrofit assessors, coordinators and designers.
The combined group now delivers 15,000 domestic retrofits a year across social and private rented homes in the UK, which Domna said equated to £7m a year in fuel-poverty reduction. It is now “the largest specialist retrofit consultancy of its kind in UK social housing”.
Before the acquisitions, Domna had already been working closely with The Warmfront Team, which was established in 2012 and works with over 60 UK housing associations representing 900,000 homes.
The surveying firm is based in the West Midlands and most of its work is linked to public retrofit programmes such as the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) and the Great British Insulation Scheme. It is the largest provider of ECO assessments in UK social housing.
Osmosis ACD provides PAS 2035 retrofit assessments, coordination and design to housing associations and local authorities. Most of its work is linked to public retrofit programmes such as the Local Authority Delivery scheme and the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund (formerly called the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund).
Ms Moore, chief executive and co-founder of Domna, said: “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 [more than] £500bn opportunity in UK retrofit.
“The synergies with Warmfront and Osmosis are clear, and together we are already proving that retrofit is not only the right thing to do, but also good business.
“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,” she said.
Alexander Hearn, founder of The Warmfront Team, said: “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.”
Matt Ratcliff, founder of Osmosis ACD, said: “This acquisition marks a significant milestone for Osmosis ACD and reflects the hard work and dedication of our entire team and the support from existing and previous clients.
“Domna shares our vision for excellence and our commitment to our teams and to be an employer of choice.”
Christos Lavidas and Jean-Christophe Napoleon Bonaparte, managing partners, and Michael Youtsos, partner, at Leon Capital, said: “We are thrilled to be partnering with Anna and the rest of the management team in building a truly tech-enabled service provider in UK residential retrofit, and in doing so, do our part in helping reduce fuel poverty and carbon emissions across the country.”
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