Kensa Heat Pumps: Legal & General snaps up stake in ground source heat pump firm Kensa Group

Financial giant acquires 36 per cent share in one of UK's largest green heating developersLegal & General (L&G) has snapped up a 36 per cent stake in one of the UK's leading ground source heat pump developers Kensa Group for an undisclosed fee, as the multinational financial giant continues to expand its British green investment portfolio.Kensa both manufactures and installs ground source heat pump technologies for homes and businesses, offering a low carbon alternative to heating from fossil fuel gas, which is estimated to account for around a quarter of the UK's total energy use and 15 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions.Powered by electricity, ground source heat pumps circulate a mixture of water and antifreeze around a loop of pipe buried underground, where it absorbs heat from the ground into the fluid, which then passes the heat through a pump in order to heat homes and water.L&G said its investment in Kensa, which was announced last Friday, presented a "unique opportunity to partner with a market leader at a time when growth in the sector is accelerating rapidly", and indicated it was looking to use the technology across its own growing real estate business.The UK financial firm said plans were currently underway to make all its new housing stock "operationally net carbon neutral" by 2030, and suggested ground source pumps and electric vehicle (EV) charging had a key role to play in meeting the target.Kerrigan Procter, CEO of Legal & General Capital, said its investment would enable Kensa "to scale up at pace, bringing vital capacity to the sector"."Our partnership marks a major milestone for Legal & General as we look to invest in the transformation of the energy system, and also add critical capabilities to deliver our own ambitious target to achieve net zero homes," he added. "We are delighted to invest in a business that will play a major role in the transition to low carbon heating in the UK and support significant job creation in the low carbon sector."The move follows L&G's recent move to increase its shareholding in EV charging specialist Pod Point, in a deal which also saw French energy giant EDF snap up the controlling stake. L&G also recently partnered with PensionBee to launch the UK's first fossil fuel-free pension fund.Kensa Group CEO Simon Lomax said its heat pump system could play a major role in the UK's net zero transition. "This significant investment will allow the Kensa Group to strengthen its market-leading position by accelerating Kensa heat pumps' research and development programme, expanding Kensa Contracting's district heating shared ground loop array activities, and providing zero-cost ground arrays via innovative funding programmes through Kensa Utilities," he said.