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£500k investment boosts Boilerplan’s national expansion strategy

Cramlington-based Boilerplan UK, which supplies home owners with domestic boiler installation, has landed a £500k investment to roll out its national expansion plans.

The company secured funds from the Finance for Business North East Accelerator Fund, managed by Northstar Ventures, which has invested £350k alongside an angel investor.

The investment will be used to increase the team, creating 12 new jobs, as well as expanding the model nationally on a region by region basis.

Launched by Ian Henderson in 2014, after more than 20 years working in a family-run heating and plumbing company, Boilerplan is already established in 6 regions across the UK.

The firm works with locally subcontracted engineers and installation partners while providing in-house after-sales care. This allows it to offer competitive prices without compromising on customer service.

Ian Henderson explained: “The idea for Boilerplan UK came from my experiences working in heating and plumbing. The problem with the heating industry is that it is very antiquated – choices for private customers are still fairly limited.

“There are approximately 1 million new boilers fitted in privately owned homes each year. Customers typically have had two options – either to pay the expensive rates charged by national energy companies to receive good customer service, or to employ a small local company with cheaper rates but where there is no guarantee of after-sales care.

“I believed there was a large gap to fill in the market, which Boilerplan UK now addresses. By employing only a management team and customer service team directly we are able to keep our overheads low, passing the savings on to our customers.

“We then find the best plumbers in each area to partner with so we know our customers can enjoy a high standard of work, with the reassurance of having the support of a national customer service team.”

Stephen Price, Investment Manager at Northstar Ventures said: “Ian has a wealth of experience in the heating and plumbing industry, which he’s successfully used to establish Boilerplan UK. It’s a unique offering and one we believe is incredibly attractive to homeowners and landlords.”

Paul Wigham, partner at Watson Burton and part of the firm’s corporate and commercial team, acted for Northstar Ventures on its investment in Boilerplan UK, supporting the company with a wide range of legal services. The Watson Burton team also included solicitor Kirsty Adamson.

Paul Wigham said: “We were delighted to have been able to act for Northstar Ventures on a deal which will make a major impact to the growth of Boilerplan UK and help the company to move forward. It has also been pleasing to see it attract a high level of private investment.”

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