Dutch firm buys stake in Ballyfermot-based Joule Group

Dutch hot water and ventilation company Inventum has acquired a majority stake in Ballyfermot-based Joule Group for an undisclosed sum.

Joule began manufacturing copper-vented hot water cylinders in 1970 when it became common for houses to have a piped hot water system. It now makes and installs renewable heating and hot water systems in new houses and homes being renovated.

The company operates in Ireland and the UK. Its latest accounts show that it made a pre-tax profit of €906,922 on turnover of just under €21 million in the year to the end of February 2015. Its profits and turnover in that year both rose by more than 30 per cent.

In the same period, losses at its Joule Hot Water Systems UK Ltd subsidiary reduced to £55,313 from £85,843 a year earlier, while its turnover rose by 43 per cent to £5.1 million.

Expertise

Joule’s joint managing directors,

Ian Barrett

and

Ronan Ginnell

, said the deal would cement the company’s position as a market leader in the plumbing and heating industry and give it access to a “wealth of expertise and experience” that would take the group into the “next phase of its development”.

“We look forward to developing the business with exciting new products on the horizon,” they said.

The shareholders of Joule were advised by IBI Corporate Finance while Inventum was advised by KwikGielen Corporate Finance.

"In only eight years, Joule has achieved market leadership in Ireland and a strong and growing position in the UK. We look forward to supporting Joule's further development under the continuing leadership of Ian and Ronan," said Inventum chief executive Richard Verbree.

Company filings indicate that Mr Barrett and Mr Ginnell own 39.52 per cent of the business.

Situated close to Utrecht in the Netherlands, Inventum is 108 years old and has a product range that includes hot water boilers, kitchen boilers, boiling water taps and heat pumps.