The great retrofit of Europe is underway.
what Europe will spend on air conditioning over the next ten years
A very cold portable air conditioner, designed as furniture. In summer it cools a large living space. In winter the hardware packs away and it stays out as a side table.
Our fittings are best in class
We ship two adjustable fittings in the box — between them they cover the overwhelming majority of homes. Our e-mount lock system is 10x better than anything on the market.
For casement and tilt-turn windows. A hinged jaw closes onto the opening and grips it, ensuring minimal air leakage.
For sash windows. A telescopic panel extends to fill the raised opening and holds itself under tension, fully airtight.
And it's a purple cow that gets people talking.
HELM One is opinionated enough that strangers photograph it, talk about it and send it to each other.
Competition is for losers.
Britain pays £250–550 for Dyson fans that are merely inoffensive — and still tucks them away in winter.
Urban Cooling's Incognito sells design-led fitted cooling from £9,000 — colour-matched and award-winning. It needs holes in the plasterboard, an F-Gas installer and the landlord's permission.
Multiple multi-million pound exits, decades of hardware experience, and a perfect balance of complementary skills.
Founded Simpl.rent (VC-backed, profitable), Lithium (exit), Medley (exit). Has taken software from zero to one three times, and launched MyKanban hardware through Kickstarter and direct sales. Chemical and mechanical engineering background.
Co-founded and scaled Simpl.rent with Tom over eight years; Forbes 30 Under 30. Venture partner at Kogito Ventures. Four years in strategy and finance consulting across Barcelona and London; Imperial Business School.
Former Dyson designer. PhD in design-driven innovation; Red Dot and iF Design winner. Has spent the last five years designing HVAC products — air curtains and heat-recovery units — for Flowair and Heatpex.
Power the retrofit of Europe.
Start with a bold machine people desire, use the brand and the margin to go mainstream, then build the network that installs it all. HELM One is step one.
HELM One at £1,190. Sell out 1,500 units. Own the top of the category.
Same brand, simpler machine, £600–800, retail scale. Cold for every flat, funded by phase one's margin.
Installation, service, B2B by the floor. The supply chain of the retrofit — sold to homes, hotels and landlords.
The same compressor already dehumidifies and heats. Every machine we ship connects through the same two fittings.
For scale: 1% of Europe's 2035 volume ≈ 270k units ≈ £270m a year. SharkNinja ~$13bn market cap · De'Longhi €3.3bn revenue · Smeg ~€1bn — beloved appliance companies are measured in billions.