Legal & General Capital invests in decarbonising homes

Legal & General’s alternative investment arm has put around £15m into initiatives that aim to decarbonise residential real estate, bringing its total investment in the sector to more than £40m. Legal & General Capital has invested some £12.5m across three companies – Cambridge Electric Cement, Hometree and SunRoof – and increased its existing investment in energy technology and services company Sero Technologies. Cambridge Electric Cement decarbonises cement production through a “recycling loop” that eliminates emissions from the production process, saves raw materials and reduces emissions associated with steelmaking. Hometree, a residential services challenger brand, focuses on sustainable home improvements. Its services include helping homeowners install green energy hardware, providing repair and maintenance services for home energy hardware, and offering green loans, leases and mortgages. Sunroof is a Sweden-based provider of providing integrated PV roofs to residential customers in several European countries. LGC aims to support the scale-up of innovative businesses that deliver solutions for reducing carbon emissions throughout the economy. Over the past six years, its investments have focused on decarbonising power, transportation and the built environment. John Bromley, managing director for clean energy at LGC, said: “Housing is a major contributor to carbon emissions and requires some of the most radical and immediate overhauls of any industry. “The UK has some of the poorest-built housing stock in Europe when it comes to energy efficiency, but the scale of this challenge also provides a huge opportunity for investors and innovators to develop and scale up leading tech to decarbonise UK homes. This will generate not just environmental but also economic benefits by stimulating jobs and growth in the green economy across the UK, not just in the industrial heartlands.” Bromley added that the latest investments would “accelerate the development and deployment of solutions that will help reduce carbon emissions at speed and at scale”. “We have partnered with these businesses in recognition of their unique and innovative positions within their respective markets and their potential for growth,” he said. LGC’s partners in its clean energy portfolio include ground-source heat pump manufacturer Kensa Group, solar technology specialist Oxford PV and subsea 3D tech provider Rovco & Vaarst. LGC has also joined other UK cleantech accelerators and investors to form a coalition to link up companies and policymakers, called Cleantech for UK. To send feedback, e-mail pui-guan.man@eg.co.uk or tweet @PuiGuanM or @EGPropertyNews Photo © Vivint Solar/Unsplash