What Carter Synergy does

Carter Synergy is a UK-based national provider of refrigeration, HVAC, mechanical & electrical, and building services, operating as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Carter Thermal Industries Group, a family-owned British engineering business established in 1945. The company operates from offices in Birmingham (headquarters, with in-house manufacturing), Liverpool, Glasgow, and Inverness, employing approximately 700 staff across the group's UK operations and serving enterprise and mid-market customers across retail, food production and distribution, pharmaceutical, government, and commercial built environments. Customers named in the input material include Tesco, The Co-operative Group, Central England Co-operative, BP, Wing Yip, Total Produce, Avarto Bertelsmann, King's College London Dental Institute, and Birmingham Wholesale Market traders.

The business operates a turnkey model composed of three service modules — Consult & Design, Supply & Install, and Service & Maintain — supplemented by manufactured products including coldrooms, British-designed refrigerated display cabinets, refrigeration plant, refrigerant detection systems, and refrigerated trailer hire. Core technology centres on natural refrigerant transcritical CO2 plant (the Carter4CO2 range and Green & Cool Multi Rotary Compressor Pack), available in over 100 configurations from ~1kW to over 1MW, with heat recovery, PLC-based control, COP metering, and remote monitoring. Revenue is generated through a mix of hardware sales (coldrooms, cabinets, plant, detection systems), professional services (design and consultancy), project installation and commissioning, managed service and maintenance contracts (24/7/365, with 160,000+ reactive service calls and 20,000+ planned maintenance visits annually), and usage-based refrigerated trailer hire.

Distribution is exclusively direct, with no reseller channel, delivered via a national field sales and engineering force. Headline performance metrics include 300+ CO2 systems delivered across the UK, 50%+ energy reduction versus conventional heating and refrigeration systems, 55% lower energy use at Tesco Express Shaw versus the equivalent HFC installation, and 25% lower estimated yearly running costs. The Carter Thermal Industries Group reports a 36.44% reduction in total emissions and 40.90% reduction in total energy consumption over the 2024-2025 period, with Net Zero operational status achieved at the Lea Ford Road site.

Name

Carter Synergy

Legal name

Carter Synergy Ltd

Website

https://cartersynergy.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1945

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Carter Synergy is a UK national provider of refrigeration, HVAC, mechanical & electrical, and building services, delivering turnkey design, installation, and 24/7 maintenance solutions for enterprise customers in retail, food production, pharmaceutical, and public-sector environments under the Carter Thermal Industries Group.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Commercial Refrigeration and Building Services Engineering

NAICS

Air-Conditioning and Warm Air Heating Equipment and Commercial and Industrial Refrigeration Equipment Manufacturing (333415), Ventilation, Heating, Air-Conditioning, and Commercial Refrigeration Equipment Manufacturing (33341)

SIC

Air-Cond & Warm Air Heatg Equip & Comm & Indl Refrig Equip (3585), Refrigeration & Service Industry Machinery (3580)

akta.pro primary industry

HVAC & Refrigeration Contracting (IMAFALAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Refrigeration & Cold-Chain Equipment Service (IMAIABAE), Commercial HVAC Maintenance Agreements & PM Programs (HSAOAHAJ), Refrigeration Components & Controls (Compressors, Valves, Sensors) (IMAHAKAH), Compressors, Refrigeration Components & Condensing Units (IMADANAG)

Keywords

• Commercial refrigeration services
• Natural refrigerant systems
• HVAC mechanical electrical
• Building services contracting
• Refrigerated coldrooms cabinets

Headquarters

HQ city

Birmingham

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Product Sales (Refrigeration Equipment): Sale of manufactured and sourced refrigeration products including coldrooms, refrigerated cabinets, refrigeration plant, and refrigerant detection systems. Products are sold as bespoke or packaged solutions suitable for retail, industrial, pharmaceutical, and commercial applications.
2. Engineering Design and Consultancy Services: Design and consultancy services for refrigeration, HVAC, mechanical and electrical projects. Includes system design, lifecycle costing, risk analysis, environmental impact assessments, and product selection. Delivered by in-house engineering teams.
3. Project Installation and Commissioning: Supply and installation of refrigeration plant, services and associated systems. Turnkey solutions covering natural refrigeration, project management, installation, commissioning, and technical support. Includes one-stop-shop full project delivery.
4. Service and Maintenance Contracts: Reactive service and preventative maintenance contracts delivered nationally. The service call centres and engineers process over 160,000 service calls per year. Maintenance teams carry out over 20,000 planned maintenance visits annually. 24/7/365 call centre support.
5. Refrigerated Trailer Hire: Rental of refrigerated walk-in chiller and freezer trailer units nationally. Flexible hire periods from days to years. Chilled only (0°C to +10°C) and dual temperature (frozen and chilled, -18°C to +10°C) options available.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Carter Synergy designs, supplies, installs, and maintains refrigeration, HVAC, mechanical & electrical, and building services systems for the UK built environment. The company sells manufactured products (coldrooms, refrigerated display cabinets, refrigeration plant including transcritical CO2 systems, refrigerant leak detection, refrigerated trailer hire) and delivers full turnkey engineering services from consult & design through supply & install to 24/7/365 service & maintenance for retail, food production, pharmaceutical, industrial, and public sector customers.

Product overview

Carter Synergy is a national provider of refrigeration, mechanical, electrical, HVAC, and building services offering a portfolio of manufactured products and contracted engineering services. The product portfolio includes five core manufactured offerings: Coldrooms (thermally insulated cold storage structures), Refrigerated Cabinets (British-designed display equipment), Refrigerant Detection (leak detection and monitoring systems), Refrigeration Plant (scalable plant from condensing units to 1MW central systems), and Refrigerated Trailer Hire (mobile chiller and freezer trailers). These are complemented by three service modules: Consult & Design (engineering design and consultancy), Supply & Install (project delivery and installation), and Service & Maintain (reactive and preventative maintenance). The company also operates a Webstore for spare parts and accessories.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Green & Cool: World-leading supplier of refrigeration plant using carbon dioxide as a refrigerant. Partnership established in 2013.
• Carter 4 CO2
• Carters

Products and services

• Coldrooms Thermally insulated cold storage structures for retail, commercial, industrial, food manufacturing, laboratory, mortuary, and pharmaceutical environments. Solutions range from small convenience cold rooms to distribution centre-scale chambers.
• Refrigerated Cabinets British-designed and manufactured refrigerated display equipment including full and low-height multideck cabinets, produce cabinets, glass door cabinets, roll-in milk cabinets, and serve-over cabinets. Available in HFC, CO2 and hydrocarbon ranges.
• Refrigerant Detection Fixed and handheld refrigerant leak detection systems, refrigeration system controls, temperature recording and monitoring solutions, and refrigeration energy monitoring and system optimisation services.
• Refrigeration Plant Scalable refrigeration plant solutions ranging from small condensing units to 1MW central plant systems. Includes Green & Cool CO2-based transcritical systems as well as HFC, A2L and hydrocarbon refrigerant configurations.
• Refrigerated Trailer Hire Walk-in chiller and freezer trailer rental solutions. RT002 chilled-only trailer (9.3m3, 0C to +10C) and FT002 dual-temperature trailer (9.4m3, -18C to +10C) for temporary or emergency refrigeration needs.
• Consult & Design (Engineering Design and Consultancy) Engineering design and technical consultancy services for refrigeration, HVAC, mechanical and electrical systems. Includes system design, lifecycle costing, risk analysis, environmental impact assessments, and product selection. Delivered by in-house engineering teams.
• Supply & Install (Project Installation and Commissioning) Supply and installation of refrigeration plant, services and associated systems. Turnkey solutions covering natural refrigeration, project management, installation, commissioning, and technical support. Includes one-stop-shop full project delivery.
• Service & Maintain (Reactive and Planned Maintenance) Reactive service and preventative maintenance contracts delivered nationally. The service call centres and engineers process over 160,000 service calls per year. Maintenance teams carry out over 20,000 planned maintenance visits annually. 24/7/365 call centre support.

Quantifiable outcome

• 50%+ reduction in energy use compared to conventional heating and refrigeration systems (Co-operative Group Hulme store)
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Sustain Recycling LimitedflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Official Sustainability Partner appointed in January 2026, bringing together two organisations with shared values of engineering excellence, long-term thinking, and responsible innovation. Sustain Recycling is a specialist in commercial refrigeration recycling and circular economy solutions with over 15 years of experience. The partnership aims to set a new benchmark for sustainability within the cooling sector, enabling better management of equipment lifecycles, reduced waste, increased reuse, and measurable carbon savings across manufacture, installation, refurbishment, and end-of-life recovery.
• Green & CoolcoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2013Strategic partnership established in 2013 with Green & Cool, a world-leading supplier of CO2 refrigeration plant based in Sweden. Carter Synergy is the UK distributor of Green & Cool plant. The partnership has delivered over 300 Green & Cool CO2 systems across the UK in retail, pharmaceutical, petrol filling stations, distribution centres, and food processing markets. Products include the Sirocco Transcritical pack, Multi Rotary Compressor Pack, and standard condensing units (Coy units).
• Specialist Technology Partner (Refrigerant Detection)coreTechnology or IntegrationStrategic partnership for refrigerant leak detection and monitoring systems. Provides scalable solutions from single-point to site-wide detection suitable for retail, data centres, maritime, banks, hospitals, and food production environments. Includes fixed and handheld leak detectors, refrigeration system controls, temperature recording, and monitoring solutions.
• RDM (Resource Data Management)coreTechnology or IntegrationRDM control and monitoring systems used for refrigeration pack control and HVAC integration across Carter Synergy installations. Purpose-built controllers interface with refrigeration packs via 0-10V signals. Used in integrated CO2 installations for BP and other major clients.
• GuntnercoreTechnology or IntegrationGuntner evaporators specified for pharmaceutical coldstore installations, selected for their excellent 'throw' to ensure even temperature distribution in critical pharmaceutical environments.
• Segro (East Midlands Gateway)minorOthersSegro East Midlands Gateway logistics park location for Avarto Bertelsmann pharmaceutical coldstore project. Site hosting for the critical temperature-controlled facility.
• Uplands Construction LtdminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerConstruction partner for the Tesco Metro Caxton Gate refit project in Birmingham city centre. Worked alongside Carter Synergy and DJ Transport crane team to deliver the project within the build programme.
• TEKO GMBHcoreTechnology or IntegrationTEKO GMBH designed and manufactured custom transcritical CO2 pack units for the Tesco Metro Caxton Gate project within tight timeframes. Units were built to specific weight profiles (under 2,200 kg per unit) to meet crane lift restrictions at the city centre site.
• Armstrong Fluid TechnologycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKey collaboration partner on the cheese production facility plant replacement project, lending unique expertise in hydraulic technology to improve the design, efficiency, and balance of pumped glycol loops. This collaboration was shortlisted as a finalist in the RAC Cooling Awards 2019 Environmental Collaboration category.
• Zenith (Fleet Management)minorOthersFleet management company partnered with Carter Thermal Industries for vehicle leasing. Partnership enabled donation of ex-fleet vehicle to Corby Foodbank.
• EmployabilityUKminorOthersKey charity partner. Over 600 hours of staff time provided in volunteering activities in the last two years alone. Carter Synergy also provides free IT support and meeting space at their offices to support EmployabilityUK's programmes and training sessions.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Daikin: Daikin is a global HVAC and refrigeration equipment manufacturer with a strong UK footprint. It is a broad incumbent in the same end markets as Carter Synergy, supplying HVAC and refrigeration plant to commercial, retail and industrial customers, though it does not directly offer Carter Synergy's turnkey contracting and 24/7 field service.
• Trane Technologies: Trane Technologies is a global HVAC and refrigeration equipment manufacturer and service provider. It competes broadly with Carter Synergy through its Thermo King transport refrigeration and commercial refrigeration portfolios, though it does not focus specifically on UK turnkey CO2 contracting for food retail.
• Aggreko: Aggreko is a global provider of temporary and mobile temperature-control solutions, including refrigerated trailer and container hire. Its mobile refrigeration rental offering overlaps directly with Carter Synergy's refrigerated trailer hire product line, while its broader temperature control services compete in adjacent use cases.
• Carrier Global: Carrier Global is a major global HVAC and refrigeration manufacturer with significant UK presence. While Carter Synergy operates as a regional specialist contractor, Carrier competes in overlapping product categories (commercial refrigeration, HVAC plant) and is a major incumbent in the broader UK building services market.
• Emerson (Climate Technologies): Emerson's Climate Technologies business manufactures compressors, controls and refrigeration components used across commercial and industrial refrigeration. It is a broad incumbent supplying upstream technology (compressors, valves, controls) into the same value chain Carter Synergy serves, though at the equipment and controls layer rather than contracting.

Direct peers

• J&E Hall: J&E Hall (part of the Hall Group) is a UK-based refrigeration and air conditioning contractor serving commercial, industrial and retail customers with design, installation and maintenance services. It is a direct peer to Carter Synergy in the UK refrigeration contracting market, with overlapping capabilities in coldstore and process cooling.
• Adcock Refrigeration: Adcock Refrigeration is a long-established UK refrigeration and air conditioning contractor offering design, supply, installation and maintenance services to retail, commercial and industrial customers. It directly competes with Carter Synergy in UK food retail refrigeration contracting and 24/7 service.
• Star Refrigeration: Star Refrigeration is one of the UK's largest independent industrial refrigeration contractors, providing design, installation, service and maintenance of refrigeration plant. It is the most direct domestic competitor to Carter Synergy, with overlapping CO2/natural refrigerant expertise, national service coverage and a similar blue-chip food retail and industrial customer base.
• DCC Refrigeration & Air Conditioning: DCC Refrigeration & Air Conditioning is a UK-based provider of refrigeration, air conditioning and building services to commercial and industrial clients. It competes with Carter Synergy in retail, commercial and industrial refrigeration contracting, with comparable service and maintenance offerings.

Others

• Green & Cool: Green & Cool is a Sweden-based manufacturer of CO2-based refrigeration plant and the strategic technology partner from which Carter Synergy sources its flagship transcritical CO2 systems. It is an ecosystem/partner rather than a direct competitor, with Carter Synergy serving as its exclusive UK distributor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/carter-synergy
• Xx.com/CarterSynergy
• Facebookfacebook.com/cartersynergy

Compliance12 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Carter Synergy