How green is your deal?

A truly "Midlands deal" shows "the war on woke" is far from lost

Hello Rainmakers

The ESG pushback has started. In Trump’s America the cry is “drill, baby drill” and the Broligarch supporters love nothing better than “baiting the libs” as part of a “war on woke”.

It wasn’t meant to be like this. Sustainability metrics were built into investment decks, newly raised funds were driven by a shifting investor sentiment towards environmental goals.

But behold. This week a major deal dropped that seems to suggest the agenda is holding and wasn’t a passing whim.

What’s going on?

Let us know what you think, either on here, or on our Rainmakers LinkedIn page.

Rainmakers is a reader-supported publication. Subscribers get two unique pieces a week and full access to our back catalogue of investigations, scoops, and insights. These include updates from columnist The Secret Investor and interviews with entrepreneurs, as well as leaders from VC and PE investors like Palatine, Mercia and LDC. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber, or sign up for a free trial…

We all know sustainability needs to be high on the agenda, but the journey to achieving it is challenging.

Investors are increasingly prioritising sustainable companies, pushing businesses to align with greener practices. However, retrofitting your operations is a costly task and in a difficult economic climate, many look to defer initiatives in favour of immediate survival.

Yet, innovation will always emerge from adversity.

Take Domna - a start-up which secured £70m of backing from private equity investor Leon Capital last week.

Founded by ex-McKinsey partner Anna Moore, ex-British Land strategy executive Chenai Gondo and Khalim Conn-Kowlessar, Domna’s stated mission is to make every home in Britain energy efficient.