Belfast entrepreneurs, b4b Group, have acquired a majority stake of local renewable energy solutions company, Daly Renewables (Daly), with plans to create 20 new jobs over the next two years.

Dominic Kearns and Tommy O'Hagan have made names for themselves in Northern Ireland in the last decade, with a roster of innovative and disruptive companies under their belt, some of which are among NI's fastest growing businesses, including Fibrus, Weev, b4b group and Viberoptix.

All of those businesses have been built from start-ups to mature (and still growing) businesses that now cumulatively employ in excess of 1,000 people.

Now turning their hands to renewables, Kearns and O'Hagan have set up b4b Renewables, incorporating Daly, which will initially focus on providing solar generation solar generation and battery storage solutions to commercial buildings as well as Heat Pump energy solutions to hotels, factories and retail businesses. Many businesses today are seeking to build their ESG credentials but also mitigate against rising energy costs through the adoption of renewable energy solutions.

Daly Renewables is an industry leading company in renewable technologies services to housebuilders, for one-off bespoke houses, large scale residential and social housing. The acquisition will drive expansion of the existing service offering while supporting ventures into new areas.

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Ryan Daly, a director at newly formed b4b Renewables, was named Young Entrepreneur of the Year in Northern Ireland in 2011 and is one of Northern Ireland's foremost experts in the design and installation of renewable energy systems.

He said: "Daly has been operating for more than a decade and we have seen the sector go from strength-to-strength as market conditions, global environmental impact and rising costs have all played a role in driving interest in renewable technologies

"One of the areas Daly has excelled in is design and technical drawings of renewable solutions. Each system is designed by our in-house team and calculations are produced for all elements pre-installation. This give our customers the confidence that the end result will be of the upmost quality.

Joining forces with the guys from b4b will give us the experience at scaling the business, allow us to invest in our team and technical capabilities even more – taking us to the next level."

Belfast based corporate finance professional Brian Loughran also joins the b4b duo, investing in the new combined entity. Loughran who recently took up the role of Managing Director of Carsena Investments, a vehicle used by Kearns to hold and manage his investments, said there is ‘much to be done locally to assist businesses and society with their energy transition'.

Loughran said: "This acquisition is our first transaction in the renewables space and we're pleased to have brought such an established renewables business into the fold. Daly's expert knowledge of the industry and the developing technologies available in the market give us a perfect platform to scale quickly.

"There is a lot to do to reach net zero and significant investment will be needed locally to address it. In Ireland and the UK we have been good at generation but it alone will not solve the energy transition.

"We have already started dealing with the transport transition through our EV charging business Weev and through our renewables venture we plan to help businesses and households with their journey focusing straight away on micro generation through solar and their heating transition. Theres lots to do."