Healthier homes on the horizon thanks to business team-up

By Rob Kelly

04 Nov 2024

Deyrick Allen, Niamh Allen, Derek Horrocks and Tom Allen

Two of the Lancashire’s leading organisations in creating healthier homes and buildings have teamed up – with Sustainable Investments Ltd (SI) making a strategic investment in smart building technology organisation IoT Horizon.

SI – which is headquartered in Skelmersdale and includes retrofit  decarbonisation contractor Sustainable Building Services (SBS) and energy retrofit service provider and consultancy Sustainable Energy Services (SES) – has acquired a 76% stake in family-owned, Rawtenstall-based IoT Horizon.

The move solidifies a partnership founded on the organisations’ shared commitments and vision to creating healthier, warmer, and well-maintained buildings and living spaces.

IoT Horizon helps its clients to collect data and gain insights on their buildings, people, processes, and assets to make better and more-informed decisions, including the use of AI for advanced insights, monitoring, evaluation, to create healthier spaces to be in, while also identifying opportunities to improve energy and cost efficiencies. Collected by smart sensors, this data is captured via industry-leading digital Neronis® platform on elements like heat, humidity and air quality, vital in enhancing comfort, health and safety within buildings, while also driving significant reductions in energy consumption.

IoT Horizon’s expertise – solidified over the past seven years – in larger building management has already proven adaptable for residential applications, making it a natural fit with SI’s housing focus and adding to its now 150-strong team.

Derek Horrocks, owner and chair at Sustainable Investments Ltd, said: “There are real synergies between our two businesses, with a shared vision for delivering real and positive social impact on society. Both being headquartered from the North West but operating nationally just goes to illustrate the leading expertise coming out of the region that’s making a difference to people UK-wide.

“This investment is a purpose-led one, and our onward partnership is all about encouraging growth and innovation that directly improves and transforms lives – in this case delivering warmer, drier, healthier, and cheaper to heat buildings and homes.

"Founder Deyrick, Niamh and the wider IoT Horizon team have been doing fantastic things over the past seven years in the smart building space, all informed by Deyrick’s previous experience working for household names like Hewlett Packard.

“Combining IoT Horizon’s data-led approach to everything from occupancy to energy consumption through to air quality with our own specialism in delivering housing decarbonisation works will mean we’re able to accelerate delivery at scale. The team also brings with them excellent experience from working on Innovate UK funded projects and being members of Make UK.

“That means we can go even further – creating greater social impact together than separately.

"Our partnership will advance that shared mission and commitment to delivering measurable impact through reliable, data-informed solutions that enable people to live in homes that are not only energy efficient but are healthier and more comfortable for millions of people around the country.”

SIs investment represents a collaborative approach, with the current management team retaining 24% ownership and continuing to lead day-to-day operations alongside managing director Niamh Allen.

This will provide business continuity and leadership for existing client networks, and continuing to lead the field in smart buildings in the North West, including success on the Liverpool Tech Climbers list and an ever-growing prominent position in Lancashire’s technology scene.

Deyrick Allen, founder of IoT Horizon, said: “Our work over recent years has really examined air quality and tackling ‘sick building syndrome’. This focus has only been solidified in recent years with high profile media stories around the impact of such things on people’s health.

“If there is one thing we want to do, it’s to play our part in ensuring healthy buildings, and being able to work within SI to apply what we do in the housing decarbonisation space is a way we can make transformational difference to real situations and people.

"While our services will really help the likes of registered providers of social housing in measuring operational and energy efficiencies, the real crux is their residents feeling the positive impact – from improved comfort and health to reduced energy usage.

“The ethical alignment of our businesses is what makes this such a significant moment for everyone involved, and having the backing of SI is only going to help us make our vision a reality in a faster fashion.

"We will be continuing to work with clients across other areas as well, and they will see no changes day-to-day in how we are already working with them. This is simply an exciting next step to scale up and make an even bigger difference to people around the country.”

The new chapter will see IoT Horizon rebranded as Sustainable Smart Technologies, bringing its new name and visual identity in line with other SI businesses.

Enjoyed this? Read more from Rob Kelly

Latest news

1

Breck Homes appoints new managing director Phil Dolan, Breck

Breck Homes appoints new managing director

20 Oct 2025

2

Management buyout at Suresite Group Steve Holden

Management buyout at Suresite Group

17 Oct 2025

3

Meet the influencers who have generated £2m sales for one company Helen and Richard Chalu new

Meet the influencers who have generated £2m sales for one company

16 Oct 2025

4

WHN strengthens position in prestigious legal guide Daniel Long

WHN strengthens position in prestigious legal guide

16 Oct 2025

5

Warden appoints new commercial manager to strengthen project delivery and growth Peter Heskine

Warden appoints new commercial manager to strengthen project delivery and growth

16 Oct 2025

Background image for hub sign up block

LBV Hub

Leverage Lancashire Business View platforms

Post your news
Post your events
Post your offers
Build your network
Improve your SEO
Gain coverage in the magazine
Sign-up
Events
CMI Level 5 Project Management Course
UCLanAerialCampus.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Seminars
21 Feb 2025 - 21 Feb 2026

CMI Level 5 Project Management Course

Preston Campus, Preston, PR1 2HE

08:00 - 17:00

CMI Level 5 Management and Leadership Course
UCLanAerialCampus.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Seminars
21 Feb 2025 - 21 Feb 2026

CMI Level 5 Management and Leadership Course

Preston Campus, Preston , PR1 2HE

09:00 - 17:00

Help to grow management course
Help to grow - barriers to growth.png.png
LBV Hub Seminars
26 Sep 2025 - 16 Dec 2025

Help to grow management course

Preston Campus , Preston , PR1 2HE

09:00 - 15:00

RISE - Lancashire's unique leadership programme for women
thumbnail_Emma Weston Illustration WENDY BOWERS RISE Illustrstion.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Seminars
22 Oct 2025 - 18 Mar 2026

RISE - Lancashire's unique leadership programme for women

East Lancashire Chamber of Commerce, Clayton le Moors, BB5 5JR

09:30 - 15:30

Women scaling up Blackpool Fylde and Wyre
LBV Hub Seminars
22 Oct 2025 - 09 Jan 2026

Women scaling up Blackpool Fylde and Wyre

The Small Business Academy, Blackpool, FY4 5JX

09:30 - 15:30

HR Essentials for pubs, bars and licensed venues
EventBrite NORi - 22nd Oct Webinar.png.png
LBV Hub Webinar
22 Oct 2025 - 22 Oct 2025

HR Essentials for pubs, bars and licensed venues

Online - Teams, Leyland, PR253XH

13:30 - 15:00

Chamber Business Lunch – October
LBV Hub Networking
24 Oct 2025 - 24 Sep 2025

Chamber Business Lunch – October

Lancaster Golf Club, Lancaster, LA2 0AJ

11:00 - 13:30

North West Business Expo 2025
https---cdn.evbuc.com-images-880456273-4862066883-1-original.20241022-105445.jpeg.jpg
LBV Hub Exhibitions
24 Oct 2025 - 24 Oct 2025

North West Business Expo 2025

Bolton Stadium Hotel, Bolton, BL6 6SF

09:00 - 15:00

Lancaster District Business Support Expo
Lancs-cham-logo.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Networking
29 Oct 2025 - 29 Oct 2025

Lancaster District Business Support Expo

The Platform, Morecambe, LA4 4DB

10:00 - 15:00

Chamber Breakfast Networking – November
Lancs-cham-logo.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Networking
06 Nov 2025 - 06 Nov 2025

Chamber Breakfast Networking – November

Porsche Centre South Lakes, Carnforth, LA6 1FW

08:30 - 10:30

Lancashire Police business update with The Police and Crime Commissioner
Lancs-cham-logo.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Roundtables
10 Nov 2025 - 10 Nov 2025

Lancashire Police business update with The Police and Crime Commissioner

Lancaster Castle, Lancaster, LA1 1YN

14:00 - 16:00

AI, Creativity, and what it means to be human
2.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Networking
11 Nov 2025 - 11 Nov 2025

AI, Creativity, and what it means to be human

Society1, Coworking Space, Preston, PR1 3LT

18:00 - 20:00

Advertise with us

Reaching 50,000 members, our print, digital and event platforms offer a fantastic way to raise your business profile and help you grow.

Find out more LBV124 Online Graphic
Subscribe now

Weekly news bulletin