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Blog: Building for the Long Term by Bob Holt OBE, Chair, EARNZ

I have spent more than 35 years building and leading businesses in the energy services sector. In that time I have seen markets shift, governments change course and businesses rise and fall depending on whether they had the right foundations in place at the right moment. What I see at EARNZ today reminds me very much of the early days of businesses I have been involved with that went on to become market leaders. The opportunity is real, the timing is right and the platform we are building is one I am genuinely excited about.

The case for what we are doing is straightforward. The UK has an enormous challenge ahead of it. Millions of homes and buildings need to be improved, decarbonised and made more energy efficient over the coming decades. The government has committed significant funding to support that work and the political and regulatory direction of travel is clear. Businesses that can deliver practical, high-quality energy services at scale are going to be in significant demand for years to come. EARNZ is positioning itself to be one of those businesses.

Our strategy is to build a group of strong regional businesses through a disciplined buy-and-build approach. We look for businesses with good management teams, strong client relationships and a proven track record of delivery. We bring them into the group, support them with the resources and expertise of a listed group and create the conditions for them to grow. It is a model I have seen work before and I am confident it will work here.

Cosgrove & Drew is a good example of what that looks like in practice. Founded in 2015 by Zac Cosgrove and Luke Drew, the business has grown from two people to a team of nearly 100, with four distinct divisions covering major projects, small works, facilities management and building fabric. Over the past twelve months they have delivered a record year for revenue growth and margin. They have secured local authority contracts and strengthened their market position considerably. The culture Zac and Luke have built, centred on quality, safety and genuine care for their people, is exactly the kind of culture we want across the EARNZ group. They are a business going places and we are proud to have them as part of our group.

The primary market we operate in is believed to be worth more than £10 billion. It is highly fragmented, which creates real opportunities for a consolidator that approaches acquisition with discipline and patience. We are not chasing volume. We are focused on quality, on finding the right businesses and on building something that will create genuine long-term value for our shareholders, our clients and the communities in which we operate.

We have made good progress. Our audited results for the year ended 31st December 2025 showed revenue growth from £2.6 million to £11.8 million and positive adjusted EBITDA for the first time, a milestone that reflects the underlying strength of our operating businesses. The recent AGM, at which all resolutions were passed, was a further opportunity to reflect on that progress and to look ahead with confidence.

There is still much to do. We continue to develop our pipeline of acquisition targets and to focus on the organic growth of our existing businesses. We are building the central support structures that a growing group needs to operate effectively and we are investing in the right people to lead that growth. None of this happens overnight but we are making steady, disciplined progress and I remain confident in the direction we are heading.

I would like to thank our shareholders for their continued support, our board colleagues for their commitment and everyone across the EARNZ group for the work they do every day. It is a privilege to chair this business and I look forward to sharing more progress in the months ahead.

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