IMS Heat Pumps acquired by Hometree

Renewable energy installer IMS Heat Pumps has been sold to fast-growing residential energy services company Hometree in a transaction overseen by Steve Alcock, KBS Corporate Deal Executive.

Founded in 1997, and with bases in Sheffield and Perth (Scotland), IMS Heat Pumps specialises in the design, installation, commissioning, service and maintenance of ground and air source heat pumps.

IMS Heat Pumps will gain access to Hometree’s customer base, suite of financing products and insurance services so it can deliver even more value to its clients.

Hometree was founded in 2015 and now has over 100,000 customers who rely on the company to keep their properties running smoothly with emergency heating, plumbing, electrical repairs and maintenance plans.

The acquisition enables Hometree to bolster its engineering force and re-train more than 5,000 of its engineers to install, repair and maintain renewable energy machinery.

This is a key consideration given the UK government has set a target of increasing the annual number of low-carbon heating system installations from around 30,000 pre-2020 to 600,000 by 2028 as part of the quest to meet its eventual net-zero target.

It would entail increasing the number of trained heat pump engineers from 3,000 in 2022 to 27,000 by 2028.

“We’ve been installing heat pumps for over 25 years and we’ve watched the renewable home energy industry grow and grow in that time,” said Emma Bohan, Managing Director of IMS Heat Pumps.

“By partnering with Hometree, we can bring our specialist expertise to many more homeowners and look forward to working closely with the Hometree team to drive uptake of sustainable heating solutions across the country.”

Simon Phelan, founder and CEO of Hometree, added: “I’m incredibly excited to be partnering with Emma Bohan and the IMS team and look forward to helping them scale the company significantly.

“If the UK is to achieve its net-zero ambition, we will need an army of installers right across the country and we are committed to bringing together these skills, supported by financing and in-life repair and maintenance services, to make Hometree the first choice for homeowners who want to do the right thing by the planet.”