Arete leads £3.5m funding round for renewable energy trailblazer
Arete, the North west multi-family investment office, has led a £3.5m funding round into a Warrington-based technology-enabled service provider, as part of a £15m deal.
Dynamis is led by founder and chief executive Martin Smith. The company operates in the UK renewable energy market and has provided greener domestic energy solutions for more than a decade.
Mr Smith had previously exited Sunlight Tech, having sold the business to Octopus Energy.
The energy market will be a key sector, with UK decarbonisation expected to be worth up to £200bn over the next 30 years, driven by the Government’s ambitious 2050 net zero targets which will result in an accelerated move away from fossil fuels.
The installation of new boilers in new homes has been banned from 2025, leading to a sharper focus on the availability of greener heating options.
Dynamis provides businesses, homeowners and housing associations with renewable energy solutions through its mass installation of solar and air source heat pumps (ASHP) and is going through a period of rapid growth on the path to becoming the largest installer of heat pumps and solar within the next three years.
Arete’s investment will help it develop and innovate its hardware and software solutions, alongside a core installation programme that aims to decarbonise the UK’s housing stock.
Matt Cheetham, partner at Arete, said: “The world is facing one of the most important environmental, social and economically significant challenges of our generation, and this partnership with Dynamis provides Arete with a fantastic opportunity to further invest in the electrification of the UK.
“Over the last 12 months Dynamis has made strong progress in broadening its solutions and strengthening its senior management team and we believe it is now in a place where it can build upon the brilliant work they’ve achieved so far. Dynamis’s purpose aligns with our own goals as a business and our investment will support the team in delivering its ambitious plans for growth.”
The partnership with Dynamis is the latest addition to Arete’s growing portfolio in what has been a successful first year of business. It comes after the launch of Arete Zero Carbon, headed by Dr Stephen Finnegan, director of the Zero Carbon Research Institute, and aims to help public and private sector businesses reach net zero carbon by 2050.
Martin Smith leads the Dynamis board, alongside Matt Cheetham from Arete. Also joining the board is Arete’s Mike Fletcher, former chairman of Inspired Energy where he helped grow the business from £10m to £200m, multiple entrepreneur and former head of innovation at Rotork, Gary Jacobson, and former JPMorgan and RBS managing director, Marc Jones.
Martin said: “We waste so much energy as a society – not because we want to, but because there hasn’t been a way that we can regulate our spending and reduce the amount of waste. But that’s what Dynamis aims to offer, smart management of your own home through a range of different energy saving models.
“Arete really understands what we are trying to do at Dynamis and this investment enables us to charge forward with our plans to further decarbonise the UK housing stock, leaning on Arete’s expertise and knowledge of net zero landscape.”
The transaction was led by Matt Cheetham, Jamie Newall and Mike Bound at Arete. Paul Jefferson and Hannah Serene of Gateley (legal) also advised on the deal.
