Domna partners with private equity firm Leon Capital to target large UK housing retrofit opportunity and consolidate the sector through organic growth and acquisitions
Domna, a company that specialises in home energy efficiency and retrofit services, has announced a majority investment by funds advised by Leon Capital LLP (Leon Capital) to support its rapid expansion plans, with expected investment of up to £70 million.
Formerly known as Hestia, Domna was founded in 2023 by ex-McKinsey Partner Anna Moore (CEO) and ex-British Land and essensys leader Chenai Gondo (former COO), alongside former Exii CTO Khalim Conn-Kowlessar (CTO). It provides turnkey energy efficiency services to private and socially rented housing portfolios throughout the UK. It combines proprietary retrofit assessment software with on-site services to deliver a ‘one-stop-shop’ customer experience.
The initial investment by Leon Capital, a private equity firm that partners with ambitious founders and tech-enabled services companies, will facilitate Domna’s ‘buy-and-build’ approach. This allows Domna to scale up its operations quickly in response to the acute need for residential retrofit in the UK. According to the UK Parliament’s Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee, the UK has 29 million existing homes that need to be retrofitted to low carbon home energy systems by 2050.
As a result of the new funding, Domna, together with Leon Capital, is pleased to announce the acquisition of two established and experienced retrofit surveying and contracting businesses: The Warmfront Team and Osmosis ACD, as well as Domna’s proprietary predictive housing stock assessment technology and retrofit assessment software.
Established in 2012 by Alexander Hearn, The Warmfront Team specialises in energy efficiency surveying services and currently works with over 60 social housing associations in the UK (including 7 of the 10 largest social housing providers in the UK), representing over 900,000 homes. Located in the West Midlands, the team comprises experienced surveyors, who are all fully qualified Domestic Energy Assessors and Retrofit Assessors. The majority 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 also serves the private-rental and owner-occupied markets.
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. The majority 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 — bringing deep technical experience in retrofit.
In bringing these companies together, the combined leadership team of the Domna group has over 70 years’ retrofit and energy efficiency experience and a 65+ team of retrofit professionals across the UK working to PAS2035 standard, with fully accredited Retrofit Assessors, Retrofit Coordinators, and Retrofit Designers.
The combined group already delivers approximately 15,000 domestic retrofits a year across social and private rental, multi-family and single-family homes in the UK, which equates to over 20kt CO2 a year in carbon abatement, and approximately £7 million a year in fuel poverty reduction.
Anna Moore, Chief Executive Officer 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 £500+ billion 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. 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.”
Alexander Hearn, Founder of The Warmfront Team, said:
“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.”
Matt Ratcliff, Founder of Osmosis ACD, said:
“We couldn’t be more thrilled that we’ve joined forces with Domna. 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, and together, we’re poised to deliver even greater value and an enhanced service offering to our customers and stakeholders.”
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. We are grateful for the team’s trust, and our investment only reaffirms Leon Capital as a partner of choice for founder-owned businesses.”
About Domna:
Domna provides turnkey energy efficiency services to housing portfolios throughout the UK, combining proprietary retrofit assessment software with on-site services to deliver a ‘one-stop-shop’ customer experience. With 70 years’ experience working in retrofit and energy efficiency solutions, the combined group of Domna companies employs bespoke stock assessment software and the UK’s most professional team of Retrofit Assessors, Retrofit Coordinators, and Retrofit Designers to help people live happier, healthier lives by making energy efficiency easy.
About Leon Capital:
Leon Capital LLP is a private equity investment firm, based in London, and investing in leading mid-market European tech-enabled services companies. Leon Capital partners with ambitious teams to enable transformational change and build regional or international champions. With a long-term view, a family partnership mindset, and an active management model, they deliver sustainable impact for all stakeholders. The Leon Capital team has successfully completed or been involved in over 45 transactions, representing €6 billion in equity invested, and direct operational experience across 20 portfolio companies.
Notes to editors:
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