NetZero Group plans to double its workforce to more than 2,000 by the end of the decade and to double annual revenue to €400 million. The building decarbonisation group says Irish demand is moving beyond replacing ageing boilers towards lower-carbon heating and energy upgrades.

NetZero was established in 2023 by Waterland Ireland, the Irish arm of Dutch private equity firm Waterland, which has over €14 billion in assets under management and committed €50 million to build the group. Waterland Ireland’s portfolio of Irish platform companies has combined revenues of €600 million. NetZero began as a merger of O’Connor Heating and Plumbing and Gaffney Mechanical, then added Kildare solar installer Caldor Solar and Louth heat pump specialist Zetta Home Services.

The group employs 1,000 people and subcontractors across 14 locations, has delivered 20,000 heat pumps over four years and installed about 7,300 in the past year, mostly in new-build homes. It also completed about 3,400 retrofit projects.

The structural driver is rising demand from homeowners and businesses for building decarbonisation, as customers invest in heat pumps and solar rather than simply swapping fossil fuel boilers. NetZero is planning a substantial multi-million euro investment, without giving precise figures, and expects to complete further acquisitions over the coming months to widen its capabilities and geographic reach.

Rory O’Hanlon, chief executive of NetZero, said “we believe demand for building decarbonisation will increase significantly over the coming years as more homeowners and businesses move beyond simply replacing ageing oil and gas boilers and instead invest in lower-carbon heating and energy solutions.”

The company says the pace of upgrades must still rise. A spokesman said “the number of completed installations remains below the level required to deliver 400,000 heat pumps in existing homes by the end of the decade,” a national target for the sector.

For the sector, NetZero’s plan shows private equity backing the consolidation of Irish installers into scaled platforms capable of delivering heat pump, solar and retrofit work together.

Source: independent.ie / thinkbusiness.ie / irishtimes.com