Kingspan boss Murtagh takes a stake in Dundalk company Climote

Derek Roddy founder and CEO of Climote

Kingspan boss Gene Murtagh has taken a stake in Dundalk-based smarthome heating firm Climote, according to a report in today’s Irish Independent.

According to the paper it is understood that the valuation placed on Climote has doubled in the past two years.

Mr Murtagh is the latest heavy-hitter from the energy sector to invest in the business, which is based in Finnabair Industrial Park.

Last year, former Bord Gáis chief executive John Mullins took a stake in Climote, as did former Airtricity boss Ian Marchant. Mr Marchant invested around €100,000 and it’s believed that Mr Mullins invested about €300,000. Both are now advisers to Climote.

Mr Murtagh has stumped up €400,000 for his personal holding in Climote. Cavan-based Kingspan, a global insulation provider with revenue of €1.8bn last year, has already partnered with Climote in promoting smart energy solutions.

They recently worked together with the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland and Electric Ireland to equip 2,100 Co Louth social housing homes with Climote system.

Irishman Ross Finegan, a co-founder of London-based Lonsdale Capital Partners, has also just taken a stake in Climote. Lonsdale acquired Irish publisher CJ Fallon in 2013 and sold it earlier this year to US private equity firm Levine Leichtman Capital Partners.

Filings for Climote show that both Mr Murtagh and Mr Finegan each paid just over €1,000 per ordinary share in Climote.

That compares to the €533 per share that was paid by investors who used a British Virgin Islands vehicle in 2013 to acquire a stake in the business.

Climote is a spin-off from a company called Smarthomes. Smarthomes was co-founded by businessman and former presidential candidate Sean Gallagher, and Derek Roddy.

Climote has won awards for its remote home heating control system. Householders have an electronic control panel fitted in their homes to replace existing thermostat. Users can then control their home heating from anywhere in the world, over a smartphone app, by SMS, or via a tablet or laptop for instance.

The premise is that householders can save money by more precisely controlling when their home heating and water heaters go on and off.

Ex-CEOs of Bord Gáis and SSE announced as investors in Dundalk-based technology company climote

Derek Roddy CEO climote and Eamon Conway MD climote

climote, the leading home technology company which was recently described as the European competitor of Nest, has announced that both John Mullins and Ian Marchant, ex CEO’s of Bord Gáis and SSE respectively, have invested in the award winning home technology company. The two giants of the energy sector in Ireland and the United Kingdom have also been appointed to the advisory board of climote, which was named as a National Champion in the European Business Awards in early September. 

climote’s recently announced contract with ScottishPower has seen the home technology company going from strength to strength, as it builds upon the company’s existing partnerships with Electric Ireland (the retail arm of ESB) and Power NI. The partnership with ScottishPower, which climote won after a global tender of home technology companies, will see climote’s patented smart thermostat technology offered to the Scottish energy giant’s 5.6 million customers in the United Kingdom. 

The news that two of the most influential and well regarded people in the energy business have backed climote will further boost the Dundalk headquartered company’s credentials as a leader in the connected home space. Collectively over the past ten years, John Mullins and Ian Marchant were responsible for providing energy to eleven million out of the twenty nine million homes in Ireland and the United Kingdom and were responsible for a combined annual turnover exceeding €30bn.

One of the most experienced leaders and innovators in the Irish energy sector, John Mullins has over 25 years’ experience across all areas of the energy business. During his time as Chief Executive, Bord Gáis established a significant electricity business, renewable and conventional generation assets. John Mullins commented, “I am absolutely delighted to be supporting the climote team, and I look forward to working on growing climote’s market share, entering new markets and rolling out new and exciting products across different markets. The technology behind the climote HUB, which allows users to control their home heating from anywhere, via one touch programming is beautifully simple and extremely reliable. The deal with ScottishPower, which climote won after a global tender of home technology companies is proof for me that climote can take on the biggest players in the industry and succeed. The focus by climote on a utility partnership strategy is now evident with these strong partnerships.” 

“I have been using climote’s technology in my own home for many years now, so to be in a position where I will be part of the team driving climote forward is very exciting. Within the next few years, every home throughout Europe will be able to remotely manage their energy use and climote is well positioned to play a leading role in this industry-wide change.” continued Mullins. 

Ian Marchant, who is also joining the advisory board as well as investing in climote, has over 20 years’ experience in the energy sector, including a decade at the helm of SSE, the UK’s second largest energy company. Ian Marchant’s vast knowledge will be an incredible asset for the fast growing home technology company.

The rapidly growing climote is the brainchild of ex-Honeywell executive Eamon Conway and connected homes innovator Derek Roddy, who provide a wealth of knowledge and experience in the smart heating space. The duo have created a patented product which enables users to control their home heating and adjust the temperature from anywhere in the world, using smart technology. 

Eamon Conway, Managing Director of climote, commented on the announcement, “Following on from our recent ScottishPower announcement, we are extremely pleased to welcome both Ian Marchant and John Mullins on to climote’s advisory board. Both are renowned in the energy space and their acknowledgement and investment in the company is a hallmark for the product itself, as well as validation of our wider utility partnership strategy that focuses on partnering with utility companies to bring our technology to their customers. We look forward to working with Ian and John and hope it will be a long and fruitful partnership.”