This is a press release from Improveasy:
Austin Barcley, CEO and original founder of Improveasy, has completed an MBO for a controlling stake in the business. Austin, along with key personnel Chris Antrobus – ECO Funding Division, and Jeff Poole – Consumer Finance, is aiming for continued growth for the Altrincham based business. Michael Berger also joined as new board member.
Improveasy is a one-stop shop when it comes to improving the energy efficiency of homes and reducing carbon emissions. Their unique offering enables homeowners to make home improvements in the most cost-effective way, by accessing various forms of government funding and/or flexible payment options.
Improveasy is one of the UK’s leading managing agents providing nationwide funding via the Energy Company Obligation (ECO). The ECO scheme is designed to help homeowners install energy-efficient heating and insulation measures into their homes at little or no cost, and has a current funding budget of £1 billion per year through to 2026 supporting low-income and vulnerable households. New investment means Improveasy are now able to provide super-fast 48-hour payment terms to installers, which is attracting lots of new business to the company.
They also provide a range of consumer finance options across a panel of lenders to hundreds of installation companies looking to offer their customers flexible ways to pay. Installers don’t have to be FCA authorised either, which means they can focus on installing, whilst Improveasy takes care of the rest via their bespoke online tech platform.
The company is excited to be launching a new product later this year aimed at helping homeowners across the country not only reduce their energy bills but also improve the EPC (Energy Performance Certificate) rating of their property. Homeowners input details about their property and instantly receive advice explaining how to improve the EPC rating. It will check for any available grant funding, give estimated costs for the work to be done, display a variety of monthly payment options and provide access to accredited installers nationwide. Austin believes this will be of particular interest to landlords and mortgage lenders as the new MEES (Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard) regulation comes into force and is already developing this offering with a number of parties.
Improveasy has been included in various high growth lists such as the Financial Times FT1000 in 2021 and 2022 and was previously included in The Sunday Times Fast Track 100 in 2019 and 2020.
Michael Berger commented: “It’s a pleasure to support Austin and the team on the Improveasy Group journey as they look to tackle the UK’s rising energy costs. Their solutions across both ECO grant funding and consumer loans will make a key difference in the improvement of average UK domestic EPC ratings, with the government currently aiming for as many homes as possible to be rated band C or above by 2035. The entire team is committed to making a difference whilst also being one of the standout high growth companies in the ESG space.”
Fieldfisher, provided Regulatory DD, Legal DD and Corporate Advice. Tom Ward, one of Fieldfisher’s Corporate Partners added: “Improveasy has built a robust business with strong revenues and has good potential to scale significantly in light of the renewed ECO4 scheme and the UK Government’s commitment to fund a £1billion per annum budget. We wish the team all the best with the future growth of the group following this buyout.”
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