Yorkshire investor backs heating business with 25% investment

Private equity firm Knaresborough Investments has made a further significant investment in a rapidly-growing Leeds-based heating solutions business.

Steve Parkin owns Knaresborough Investments and is also the executive chairman of Clipper Logistics, which he founded in 1992 and now has a revenue approaching £400m.

Parkin’s 25% stake in Trust Electric Heating makes him an equal shareholder with the company’s three existing directors: husband and wife team Scott and Fiona Conor, and Adam Gould.

Trust Electric Heating, formerly known as Northern Heating will use the investment to facilitate expansion in the fast-growing sector, as the UK moves toward more sustainable energy sources.

Steve Parkin, who was this year the receipt of the Ambassador of the Year Awards at TheBusinessDesk.com Yorkshire Masters, said: “When the management team at Trust Electric Heating approached me with the intention of securing investment, I recognised immediately that here was a strong management team with a great product in a dynamic, expanding industry sector”.

Trust Electric Heating, which unveiled its new identity this month, is a provider of electric heating solutions for homes and businesses. The company’s electric radiators are made with a compressed soapstone core, a natural product.

Fiona Conor, managing director of Trust Electric Heating,  said: “The team has ambitions to transform the landscape of the heating industry with its products, which offer an alternative to central heating systems and night storage heaters and importantly, support a move towards more sustainable heating solutions.”

Scott Conor added: “This investment will enable us to expand considerably, as one of our key actions is to build awareness of our product as it is largely unknown in the UK.   It is nothing like traditional heating.”

“This is just the beginning,” added Gould. “We have some innovative product development plans that are currently in the pipeline, which we know, with the help, advice and guidance of Knaresborough Investments, will revolutionise the market.”