For Commercial & Social housing
Thrift Energy Group has officially transitioned to an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT), making us the UK’s largest employee-owned business in the retrofit sector! This is a milestone moment for us, so we wanted to tell you exactly what it means and why we’re so excited about our future.
A new chapter for Thrift Energy
The decision to move to employee ownership comes after a period of rapid expansion for us. Over the last 12 months, Thrift Energy Group – which includes both Thrift Energy and Provincial Seals (PSL) – has recruited and reinvested across the business, strengthening its structure and growing its headcount to 116.
As part of our transformation to an EOT, founder Derek Campbell will be stepping down to become Non-Executive Chairman after more than four decades in the industry. Directors Rob Browne and Josh Raffo will remain in place to lead the company and its ambitious growth plans.
Why we chose employee ownership
When we looked at the future of Thrift Energy Group, it quickly became clear that we didn’t want the fundamentals to change. As Managing Director Rob points out: “We’ve loved building this business alongside our team, and we want to keep doing exactly that – focusing on our customers, culture, values and people. An EOT allows us to do that, with the added benefit that our team now gets to share in our financial success too.”
We were also determined to ensure Thrift remained a Gateshead business, supporting people across the North East and creating jobs in our region, while also building the capacity and capability needed to scale delivery as national retrofit programmes ramp up and play a key role in lifting local people out of fuel poverty.
What is The Thrift Energy Group Academy?
As an employee-owned business, one of our key priorities for 2026 is the introduction of The Thrift Energy Group Academy. As Managing Director Josh explains, “This will be one of the first initiatives we focus on as we continue to invest in upskilling our team, including the creation of apprenticeship opportunities. By supporting our people to gain further qualifications and providing clear career progression pathways, we’re strengthening both our workforce and the service we deliver to our customers.”
The new Academy will draw on the training expertise within Thrift Energy Group’s Provincial Seals business, which is an ABBE and GQA-approved NVQ training provider. Provincial Seals will also play a key role in supporting wider access to the retrofit industry across the region, helping to deliver the additional 180,000 professionals needed to deliver the UK government’s Warm Homes Plan – a £15bn commitment over the next five years to cut bills, increase the number of homes powered by solar energy and accelerate heat pump installations in a drive to tackle fuel poverty.
Our impact so far
We’re proud of what we’ve achieved together. To date, we’ve helped thousands of UK homes and businesses unlock significant government funding, while reskilling and upskilling the green energy workforce and supporting the delivery of sustainable commercial spaces nationwide.
But this is just the beginning, and we expect our growth to accelerate even further in the coming years, making it an exciting time to become an employee-owned business.
This move underscores our long-term commitment to building a greener future – powered by our people. We’re not just talking about sustainability in the work we do for our clients; we’re creating a sustainable business model that puts our team at the heart of everything we do. So, watch this space for plenty more updates on our journey as the UK’s largest employee-owned retrofit business.
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