Dec. 9, 2010 -- Innovative UK company i2O Water has successfully completed a £10m fundraising round, enabling it to accelerate its international growth.
The funding means that i2O Water will be able to further roll out its pioneering new technology to tackle the worldwide problem of water leakage -- particularly in Asia, the Middle East and Latin America.
Southampton-based i2O Water has shown that despite the global recession, businesses developing innovative technology to solve environmental problems are still able to raise investment.
The current round of funding comes from existing shareholders, including Swarraton Partners, Nemadi Advisors and Naxos Capital Partners, the largest investor following this financing. This funding follows a £4.2m investment round raised by the company in April 2009.
As well as accelerating the company's international expansion, the new funding will enable i2O Water to increase its R&D spending and further develop its technology for reducing leakage, carbon emissions and energy use as well as its smart water network software.
The i2O system works by managing pressure on water distribution networks, optimizing performance and improving service for water company customers. This leads to huge savings in water and energy as well as reductions in both leakage and burst pipes.
On average, each i2O system saves the equivalent of 60,000 liters of drinking water per day. If i2O systems were installed throughout the UK, they would save more than 200 million liters of water per day -- enough to supply another 1 million people with water.
The company currently employs 30 people and prides itself on being a forward-thinking UK company which has designed cutting-edge technology to tackle a worldwide problem. i2O Water's CTO, Andrew Burrows, was recently named Design Engineer of the Year at the 2010 British Engineering Excellence Awards.
Board member of i2O and Director of Naxos UK Simon Oliver said: "We think that i2O Water is a very exciting company with great technology and a fantastic team. We are looking forward to working with them as they continue to grow."
Meanwhile i2O CEO Adam Kingdom said: "We are delighted that our existing shareholders have decided to increase their investment in i2O. This gives us the funding needed to accelerate development of both our technology and international expansion. The smart water networks installed by i2O will enable water utilities worldwide to reduce their energy use and to save precious water."
About i2O
i2O was founded in 2005 by Adam Kingdon and Andrew Burrows. The two founders believed strongly that new technology could help solve the problem of leakage in water networks and that this would become increasingly urgent as water became scarcer around the world. i2O Water's ground-breaking technology has now been installed across the UK and worldwide. This year (2010), 50 systems were installed in Malaysia, saving a total of 10 million liters of water per day, and 50 more have now been ordered. Systems have also been installed in Spain, Italy, the Philippines and South Africa. For further information, visit www.i2owater.com
Naxos Capital Partners is a European mid-market private equity firm that invests through the life cycle of a business, starting with venture investments through to mature businesses.
Swarraton Partners is a venture capital firm investing in European early-stage technology companies based on world class IP.
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