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7 July 2026 | With Britain facing more frequent periods of extreme heat, there is an increased need to keep homes, offices and public buildings habitable. Without action, by 2050, 92% of homes are likely to overheat, according to the Climate Change Commission. Rathbones Asset Management says this is creating a compelling investment case in cooling, ventilation and climate-resilient infrastructure.
The UK has historically been slow to adopt air conditioning, but hotter summers are placing greater strain on buildings designed primarily to retain heat. Against this backdrop, Rathbone UK Opportunities Fund Manager Alexandra Jackson and Rathbone Greenbank Global Sustainability Fund Manager David Harrison believe companies helping buildings manage heat more efficiently are becoming increasingly important.
Cooling more efficiently
Alexandra Jackson, Rathbone UK Opportunities Fund Manager, said: “The UK really doesn’t do air-con, but we do have companies that deliver venting solutions – and these play a big part in preventing buildings overheating. Allowing a building to breathe, and using the temperature fluctuations to power the changes you want to make in a building’s environment, are fantastic ways to harness natural energy.”
Jackson added: “While it won’t get you all the way to a refrigerated nirvana, that base load of heat reduction dramatically reduces the cooling burden placed on air-con systems. That makes the air-con systems themselves more reliable and less susceptible to breakdowns – or to having to shut down the systems in order to save them, as we’ve seen in many UK buildings recently.”
Jackson highlights Volution, a provider of ventilation solutions across the UK, Nordics and Australasia, as an example of a company exposed to this trend across residential new builds, retrofits and commercial buildings. She notes that sustained demand for its technology has supported a return of roughly 6% compounded each year.
Cooling homes and buildings is not only about installing expensive air conditioning. Ventilation is a key part of the solution, particularly in modern UK homes that are built and legislated to retain heat — beneficial in winter but increasingly challenging during heatwaves.
Mastering the flow
David Harrison, Rathbone Greenbank Global Sustainability Fund Manager, said: “Air-con and building ventilation are a big global growth area for the coming years. Belimo isn’t a name that you will know, but there’s a good chance that you’ve encountered its products if you’ve recently stepped with relief into an air-conditioned shop or office. It makes an essential part for commercial HVAC systems that helps regulate the flow and efficiency of the air.”
Harrison added: “Belimo’s products are only a small part of a complex process, but they are mission critical to the result. Its valves and actuators help keep temperatures steady and can materially improve the efficiency of a building’s air-conditioning system. Critically, given the likely increase required in air-con systems, Belimo’s components can make these systems much more efficient. In some cases, they save 80% of the energy used by competitors, according to the company’s figures.”
Harrison also points to a growing backlog opportunity for companies supplying efficient cooling and ventilation technology, alongside rising demand from data centres, where reliable and energy-efficient cooling is essential to support expanding digital infrastructure.
The energy challenge of keeping cool
As demand for cooling rises, the opportunity also comes with a wider challenge: how to keep buildings comfortable without placing excessive strain on electricity networks.
The need to adapt to hotter summers reinforces the importance of a more resilient electricity system. Globally, buildings were the largest contributor to electricity consumption growth last year, accounting for nearly 45% of the total annual increase. Meanwhile, UK government-backed research on extreme heat and heatwaves identified power sector networks as among the most vulnerable energy assets. Infrastructure investment will therefore need to support both electrification and adaptation to more frequent heat extremes.
ENDS
