Bob Holt's EARNZ Buys London Maintenance Firm GEM in £24m Deal

EARNZ, the energy services buy-and-build group launched by former Mears chief Bob Holt, has agreed its biggest acquisition to date: a takeover of London building maintenance specialist GEM worth up to £24m.

The deal more than doubles the scale of Cheltenham-based EARNZ and hands the group a major foothold in London as it builds towards a £130m turnover energy, maintenance and decarbonisation business.

GEM turned over £30m in the year to June 2026 and generated £2.5m in pre-tax profit. EARNZ expects the enlarged group to push turnover beyond £50m after completion, with further acquisitions and organic growth still needed to reach the £130m medium-term target.

GEM has operated since 1999. It delivers mechanical, electrical, heating, renewable energy and building maintenance work for London councils, housing associations, schools and commercial clients. Its customer list includes Westminster City Council and Islington Council.

The contractor is also chasing a sizeable new workload pipeline in heat networks and housing decarbonisation, backed by software that allows landlords to monitor heat networks, metering and building systems.

EARNZ will pay an initial £10m for the business, structured as £4m in cash, £4m in shares and a £2m loan note. A further £13.55m becomes payable over the following two years if GEM hits agreed revenue and margin targets. EARNZ is backing the deal with a £4.1m share placing.

The acquisition marks the latest step in Holt's plan to build EARNZ through a mix of bolt-on acquisitions and organic growth in energy services, maintenance and decarbonisation. It also gives the group an established London platform, long-term public sector clients and exposure to the fast-growing heat network and retrofit markets.

GEM joins a portfolio that now spans six businesses:

• Cosgrove & Drew — mechanical engineering and facilities management contractor covering the South West, London and southern England
• South West Heating Services — heating installation and maintenance contractor
• A&D Carbon Solutions — Wales-based renewable energy installer
• National Retrofit Solutions — large-scale housing retrofit specialist
• Warm Low Living — Leeds-based domestic energy-efficiency and retrofit contractor covering Yorkshire and the North
• EARNZ Property Services (formerly Zero Carbon Group) — whole-house retrofit in the North of England and Midlands

With GEM integrated, EARNZ sits at roughly £50m in turnover — still under half of its £130m goal. The earn-out structure means the final price of this deal, and the pace of the next one, will both hinge on performance over the next two years.