Innovative water technology company defies credit crunch to secure £4.2m funding

London, 27 April 2009

FirstCapital, the technology investment bank, announces that i2O Water has successfully raised £4.2mn in series A funding from a consortium of venture capital funds led by Swarraton Partners. FirstCapital acted as exclusive financial advisor to i2O Water in this transaction.

Southampton-based i2O Water will now roll out its technology in both the UK and internationally, significantly reducing water leaks and producing substantial carbon savings. The i2O system manages pressure on the water distribution network, optimising performance and improving service for water company customers. In trials of the system with leading water companies, leakage has been reduced by over 25 per cent.

Adam Kingdon, i2O Water's Managing Director and co-founder, said: "I am delighted with the outcome of this funding round. FirstCapital added significant value throughout the process and were an integral component in its success."

Hazel Moore, chairman of FirstCapital said “i2O’s success in securing venture capital shows that despite the economic downturn, good businesses developing innovative technology to solve pressing environmental problems are still able to raise investment.”

Notes:

About i2O Water (www.i2owater.com)
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. They assembled a strong cross disciplinary technical team to develop their ground breaking technology.

i2O’s first system was demonstrated on a part of Severn Trent’s distribution network in January 2008. Leakage savings of 26 per cent were significantly ahead of expectations and resulted in a first order from Severn Trent in September 2008. Pilot projects are now up and running with a number of other UK water companies, including United Utilities, Northumbrian, South Staffs and Portsmouth. There is also considerable interest outside the UK, particularly from water-stressed countries such as Australia, China, the US, Italy and Spain.

About FirstCapital

FirstCapital is an investment bank that specialises in fund raising and mergers and acquisitions advice for high growth technology companies. Established in 1999, it has offices  in London and Cambridge, UK. Clients include entrepreneurs, technology companies and investors in private companies.

Our team is experienced in a wide variety of deals, from growth companies to multinationals in both UK and international cross border transactions. We provide proactive, informed, full service deal management, including assistance with strategy and planning, finding and approaching investors or M&A targets, valuations and hands-on transaction execution.

We work in partnership with our clients to achieve their goals, offering impartial advice and support based on our knowledge of the market and of each client's individual requirements, and sharing alongside them in the risks and the rewards of success.


For further information, please contact:

Adam Kingdon
Managing Director, i2O Water Ltd
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Tel: +44 02380 111422
Mob: +44 07787575487

Hazel Moore
Chairman, First Capital Corporation Ltd
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Tel: +44 (0)20 8563 1563

Stephen Brooke
Managing Partner, Swarraton Partners
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Tel: +44 (0)20 7752 0862