Private equity player Waterland invests in joining together of businesses to build Ireland’s largest sustainable energy building services group.
Private equity player Waterland is assembling a new force in the field of building decarbonisation services.
The investor is committing €50m towards the new Net Zero Group by bringing together four established businesses that straddle heating, plumbing, solar PV and heat pump technologies.
“This expansion strengthens our capacity to deliver sustainable and eco-friendly energy solutions at scale, across the country”
Waterland’s plan is to create Ireland’s largest sustainable energy building services group. It’s committing over 50m euro to its growth and expansion, and has over 550 people now working within the group.
Joining the dots on scaling opportunities
At the end of 2023, Waterland engineered the strategic partnership of Gaffney Mechanical and O’Connor Heating and Plumbing. This week it has added two more companies, Caldor Solar and Zetta Home Services to the super-grouping.
Nationwide Solar PV provider Caldor Solar is a pioneer in the renewable energy sector, dedicated to advancing a sustainable Ireland through innovative solar PV solutions. Formed in 2015 and, based out of Kildare, Caldor Solar is a market-leading installer of solar PV systems in the residential, commercial and agricultural sectors approaching 5,000 completed installations throughout the country.
Zetta Home Services, based in County Louth, is a tech-enabled specialist provider of heat pump installation & maintenance services, and solar PV installation and maintenance services, primarily to residential customers.
This expansion of Net Zero Group follows the successful strategic partnership between Gaffney Mechanical and O’Connor Heating and Plumbing towards the end of 2023.
Headed in Ireland by Laura Dillon, Waterland is an independent private equity group set up 24 years ago in Holland with over €14 billion in assets under management. The group acts as an active shareholder in its portfolio companies, working in close partnership with management to drive their strategic development, performance and growth trajectory.
The private equity player has now partnered with more than 20 Irish businesses in the last three years, adding 1,000 roles to these firms through new hires and M&A.
Between them these companies will grow their revenues to more than €350m.
Such businesses include Wtech Fire Group, Silver Stream, NetZero and MTM, to name a few.
“We are delighted to welcome Caldor Solar and Zetta Home Services to the Net Zero Group,” Dillon said.
“Their expertise and innovative approach align perfectly with our vision for a sustainable Ireland. This expansion strengthens our capacity to deliver sustainable and eco-friendly energy solutions at scale, across the country.
“The integration of Caldor Solar and Zetta Home Services into the Net Zero building decarbonisation group, and Waterland Ireland’s broader portfolio, underscores a collective commitment to support the drive towards a net-zero future, which we believe can be achieved through the large-scale adoption of renewable energy solutions, as well as supporting consumers to make educated financial decisions regarding their energy needs over the medium to long term.”
Main image at top: Gearoid Harvey, Zetta Home Services; Waterland Ireland managing director Laura Dillon; and Eoin O’Flaherty, Caldor Solar
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