Virgin Money is partnering with energy tech specialist, Sero and property portal, Rightmove, to help customers make their homes more energy efficient.

Virgin Money is the lead organisation of Project POWER (Partnership Outputs Working to Enable Retrofit) working alongside Sero and Rightmove. The project is now in its discovery phase and it aims to educate customers on the bespoke retrofit options available to decarbonise their home and the benefits of doing so, while also providing affordable finance options to implement the changes.

Project POWER is funded by the Green Home Finance Accelerator fund (GHFA), part of the Net Zero Innovation Portfolio (NZIP), a government initiative that aims to drive green finance innovation. It encouraged consortium applications, supporting industry wide collaboration to increase the implementation of energy efficient home improvements to support the UK transition to Net Zero. The project looks to target and reduce the 16% of emissions that come from gas and electricity use in UK homes.

Craig Calder, head of secured lending at Virgin Money, said: “To be part of the innovative Green Home Finance Accelerator project is important for Virgin Money as we look to reinforce our aspiration to halve our financed emissions by 2030 and deliver net zero by 2050. Working with industry experts Sero and Rightmove is an opportunity to research, test and learn what consumers want before we take a proposition to market – enabling us to provide a great product for customers while at the same time making a positive impact on the environment.”

Cerys Williams, finance partnerships manager at Sero, added: “We’re very excited to be back working with Rightmove following our collaboration on the VALUER project (supported by the 2020 Green Home Finance Innovation fund). We’re equally thrilled to be venturing on a new partnership with forward thinking bank Virgin Money. Through the Green Home Finance Accelerator, the collaboration aims to remove the upfront cost barrier facing many homeowners seeking to install appropriate retrofit measures within their home.”
Simon Dawson, director of data services at Rightmove, concluded: “The Green Home Finance Accelerator project gives us an important opportunity to try and help breakdown the complexity of retrofitting homes for home-owners, as the UK strives to hit Net Zero. Rightmove has put the green agenda at the forefront of our data and analytics, and by working with our collaboration partners Sero and Virgin Money and having access to virtually the entire UK property market, we aim to help educate people on the best options available to decarbonise their homes.”