Illumia is set to exceed 1 billion in revenue in 2025 and is looking to make acquisitions
The group controlled by the Bernardi family is celebrating its 20th anniversary. Will it open up its share capital? “We are, by nature, always on the lookout for acquisitions and have several proposals on the table. The idea of ‘divestment’ is a concept that has little place in our family’s corporate culture.”
The 2025 results? “It has been a particularly positive year for Illumia: we have achieved all our targets, despite a structural narrowing of margins due to both increasing competition and the current geopolitical climate”, with turnover up 25 per cent to 1.14 billion. Illumia’s 20th anniversary? “An important milestone; we are transforming from a pure wholesaler into a vertically integrated business.” What about the rumours of a possible flotation? “We are, by nature, always on the lookout for acquisitions and have several deals on the table. The word ‘divestment’ is a concept that has little place in our family’s corporate culture.” Marco Bernardi is the chairman of Illumia, Italia’s leading family-run business in the sale of electricity and gas (the country’s seventh-largest supplier with around 1 million customers): together with his brother Matteo and sister Giulia, he has taken over the reins from his father Francesco, who founded the group in 2006.
Over the past 20 years, the company has undergone a profound transformation, expanding its business under the umbrella of the Tremagi holding company – which also controls Illumia – to include new areas such as energy efficiency and fibre optics. There is also a pipeline of photovoltaic plants in the pipeline with a total capacity of 100 MW. The aim? To strengthen vertical integration, which is increasingly a ‘must’ in a highly competitive market such as Italia’s. In fact, the Tremagi Group closed 2025 with turnover up 25% to 1.14 billion, whilst EBITDA stood at 58.4 million (compared with 66 million in 2024; however, the 2025 figures were impacted by the three batches of customers acquired in the auctions for the gradual protection scheme, which will begin to yield positive results from 2027) and EBIT at 17.2 million. At the same time, the volume of energy sold increased by 34 per cent. “Over the past 20 years,” Bernardi emphasises, “we have grown whilst navigating one of the most complex and dynamic markets of recent years.”
That said, the one million customers Illumia has reached – according to some experts – may prove to be a sub-optimal figure in the future. ““This is a very important achievement for us, as we have achieved our targets four years ahead of schedule,” replies Bernardi, who believes that the answer as to whether this scale is adequate depends on “the speed at which the market consolidates. In any case, for us, our current scale is not a point of arrival, but a starting point.”
