Volution buys getAir for €40 million to deepen its German heat recovery position

Volution Group has expanded its European ventilation business with the acquisition of Germany's getAir GmbH for €40 million, equivalent to approximately £34 million.

The deal adds a profitable and growing provider of decentralised residential heat recovery ventilation systems. More importantly, it strengthens Volution's existing position in Germany and adds further product development capabilities.

Management says the acquisition will be immediately earnings accretive, meaning it is expected to add to earnings rather than reduce them. However, Volution is funding the purchase through its existing debt facilities, so investors will need to weigh the strategic fit against the additional borrowing.

Volution's getAir acquisition at a glance

Key figure	Detail
Purchase consideration	€40 million
Approximate sterling value	£34 million
Revenue for the 12 months to 30 June 2026	€13.9 million
Adjusted EBITDA	Approximately €4.0 million
Implied adjusted EBITDA margin	Approximately 28.8%
Implied purchase multiple	Approximately 10 times adjusted EBITDA
Funding	Existing debt facilities
Reporting region	Continental Europe

Adjusted EBITDA is earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, excluding certain items management considers non-underlying. It provides a useful indication of operating profitability, although it is not the same as statutory profit or cash flow.

The €40 million consideration is on a cash and debt free basis. Broadly, that means the agreed value relates to the operating business without acquired cash or debt.

The figures also imply a purchase price of roughly 2.9 times getAir's latest annual revenue and 10 times adjusted EBITDA. These multiples are calculated from the disclosed numbers rather than stated directly by Volution.

Investors can read the original company announcement for the full regulatory wording.

What does getAir bring to Volution?

Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Mönchengladbach, getAir supplies decentralised residential heat recovery ventilation systems to primarily German and European OEM customers. OEM stands for original equipment manufacturer and refers here to business customers using or selling products within their own commercial offering.

Heat recovery ventilation extracts stale indoor air while retaining some of its heat, helping to reduce the energy required to warm incoming fresh air. Volution believes demand is being supported by European building regulations targeting lower carbon emissions and consumers seeking to reduce energy costs.

This is therefore not a move into an unfamiliar market. getAir complements Volution's existing inVENTer brand in Germany and joins a wider residential heat recovery portfolio spanning businesses in the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Croatia.

The acquisition also adds getAir's product development capability. That could matter beyond the immediate revenue contribution if Volution can use the acquired expertise across its broader brand portfolio, although specific product synergies or cross-selling targets were not disclosed.

Why the deal looks strategically sensible

The clearest positive is the fit with Volution's existing operations.

getAir operates in a product category and geography where Volution already has a presence. That may reduce some of the risk associated with buying a business in a completely new market, while giving the group greater scale in German decentralised heat recovery ventilation.

The acquired business is also already profitable. Its approximately €4.0 million of adjusted EBITDA on €13.9 million of revenue represents a margin of roughly 28.8%, based on unaudited figures for the 12 months to 30 June 2026.

That is a substantial level of operating profitability. It helps explain why Volution expects the acquisition to be immediately earnings accretive and to provide additional acquisition-led revenue momentum in its new financial year.

Continuity is another encouraging feature. getAir's leadership team will remain with the business following completion. Retaining managers with knowledge of the products, customers and local market could help protect commercial relationships during the integration process.

For wider context on the listed business, see the Volution Group plc company overview and our previous Volution trading update coverage.

The main risks and unanswered questions

The most obvious consideration is funding. Volution is using its existing debt facilities rather than issuing equity or paying from disclosed surplus cash.

That avoids diluting existing shareholders, but it increases the group's use of borrowing. The announcement does not disclose Volution's expected net debt following the transaction, the resulting leverage ratio or the additional interest cost.

There is also limited detail on integration. Volution has not disclosed expected cost savings, revenue synergies, integration spending or a timetable for extracting wider benefits from getAir's product portfolio.

The earnings accretion statement is positive, but the scale of that accretion is not disclosed. Investors therefore cannot yet judge how meaningful the contribution may be at group level.

Other information not disclosed includes getAir's customer concentration, organic growth rate, cash conversion and exposure to individual countries outside Germany. Its latest revenue and adjusted EBITDA figures are also unaudited.

Finally, a price of approximately 10 times adjusted EBITDA is not obviously distressed or opportunistic. Volution needs getAir to maintain its profitability and growth trajectory for the economics of the acquisition to prove attractive over time.

What investors should watch next

The next useful update should provide more detail on the effect of the acquisition on Volution's balance sheet and Continental Europe performance.

Key points to monitor include:

• The movement in group net debt and financing costs.
• Whether getAir maintains its approximately 28.8% adjusted EBITDA margin.
• Evidence of organic revenue growth after joining Volution.
• Progress integrating product development and innovation capabilities.
• Any future disclosure on synergies or integration costs.
• The size of the acquisition's contribution to group earnings.

A logical deal, but execution still matters

getAir appears to be a strategically coherent acquisition. It is profitable, operates in a market Volution already understands and strengthens the group's position in energy-efficient residential ventilation.

Immediate earnings accretion and management continuity are both reassuring. The acquired margin also suggests Volution is buying a quality operation rather than simply adding low-value sales.

The trade-off is higher borrowing and limited disclosure on integration benefits, costs and post-deal leverage. The acquisition's success will ultimately depend on whether Volution can preserve getAir's profitability while using its products and expertise across the wider European portfolio.