Water treatment technology business G2O Water Technologies Limited (G2O) has announced an expansion into a new laboratory at Liverpool City Region’s Sci-Tech Daresbury following a £600,000 investment, including £320,000 of funding from NPIF – Maven Equity Finance, managed by Maven and part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund.

Headquartered in Manchester, the business uses graphene-based coatings technology to provide high quality and cost-effective solutions to a broad range of filtration applications. G2O’s technology is used for the treatment of water waste across multiple markets, including oil, gas and industrial.

With an increasing need for high quality drinking water and affordable solutions globally, the wastewater treatment market is forecast to hold a value of over $200bn by 2025, with the membrane market currently estimated to be worth $26bn, at a growth rate of 5.8 per cent per year. In response to this rise, G2O identified an opportunity to provide high separation efficiency solutions to real world problems for a range of contaminants.

To enable the business to carry out the next stage of its technical development, Maven led a £600,000 investment round in July 2020, which was made up of a £320,000
investment from NPIF – Maven Equity Finance and £280,000 funding from a private individual investor and the management team. It is the second time G2O has received funding from the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund following a £1.035m investment in 2018.

Since this latest investment, the innovative firm has added four new highly paid, highly skilled jobs in the last quarter. It has also expanded its operating space by 60 per cent, taking up new space at Sci-Tech Daresbury including a new state of the art laboratory. At this new site, G2O has accelerated development and commercialisation of its products, as well as introducing new additive manufacturing capabilities to optimise the performance of membranes and evolve manufacturing processes.

Chris Wyres, CEO of G2O Water Technologies, said: “Backing from NPIF and Maven has been key to delivering on the next phase of our exciting growth journey. It has enabled commercialisation of our first generation product, that is critical to fulfilling an increasing global market demand, as well as expansion of the team with the addition of four new highly skilled professionals.

“Our recent expansion into Sci-Tech Daresbury is an important step for us as we have many synergies with the community there. It is a national leader in the chemical and materials science space with an unrivalled network that includes the likes of STFC Hartree, as well as boasting a rich talent pool, making it the perfect place for our next phase of growth.”

Jeremy Thompson, investment director at Maven Equity Partners, said: “G2O is an incredibly innovative business, delivering genuinely transformational products. It is a pioneer in its field both on a domestic and global level, so it is excellent to have worked with them throughout this journey through the NPIF fund and we are proud to have played a part in their continued success, we anticipate the business to have a similarly prosperous future ahead.”

Liverpool City Region LEP Chair Asif Hamid MBE said: “This expansion into Sci-Tech Daresbury is fantastic news. Trailblazing companies such as G20 are a very welcome addition to our world-class facilities and expertise here in the city region. The investment from NPIF will support their growth ambitions enabling them to develop new products in this field and we look forward to working with them over the coming months and years.

“NPIF and other such funds can help innovative businesses sustain and grow, ultimately creating the opportunities that will drive the recovery of our city region. In these challenging times I would encourage other businesses with the potential for growth to take advantage of the support and funding that is out there.”

Sue Barnard at British Business Bank said: “G2O is a great example of a business that is making a real difference at the heart of our Northern Powerhouse, carving out the next phase of innovation. Having its roots in Manchester, it’s fantastic to see G2O expanding into Liverpool City Region and making the most of the facilities at Sci-Tech Daresbury, which is a close partner of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund.”

The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund project is supported financially by the European Union using funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020 and the European Investment Bank.

PALATINE Private Equity has completed the sixth investment from its Impact Fund, with the acquisition of a stake in a fast-growing training company which helps individuals return to employment and develop new skills.

Palatine’s returns-focused £100m Impact Fund, which invests in profitable businesses making a positive impact on the environment or society, will now support Manchester-based Back2Work Group as it continues its growth plan.

Back2Work specialises in delivering intensive training courses to help the long-term unemployed return to work, retrain or reskill. It also offers a digital marketing apprenticeship programme and runs on-line training courses for employed people to support career progression in sectors such as health and social care.

Founded in 2010 by Managing Director Luke Muscat and Chairman Tony Bailey, Back2Work has seen strong recent growth. On the back of a number of key long-term contract wins to deliver pre-employment training for the devolved Combined Authorities, annual revenues have risen to £11.5m. As a result, Back2Work’s own headcount has increased to more than 140 employees, with the business now supporting more than 11,000 people with their training every year.
The company works closely with companies in the warehousing, logistics, IT, digital, health and social care and construction sectors, which are all experiencing strong demand for staff, to help fill vacancies. Back2Work was also able to respond quickly to the logistical challenges of lockdown, switching from classroom-based face-to-face learning to online delivery within just two weeks.

James Gregson, Senior Investment Director for Palatine’s Impact Fund said: “Back2Work is an excellent business delivering a clear social impact by helping people return to work and gain new skills. We are excited to be working with Luke and his dynamic team to build on the company’s strong recent growth and support the continued focus on employment outcomes and career progression.

Back2Work is a compelling investment for the Impact Fund with a highly relevant proposition as the UK adjusts to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic which will inevitably create new requirements for retraining and upskilling.”

James added: “With further devolution of adult education budgets on the horizon, we see strong potential for further organic growth across all parts of the business. Given the scale of the opportunity in the training sector and our track record in buy and build, we are also keen to consider potential acquisition opportunities.”

Following the investment, James Gregson and Palatine Investment Director James Painter are joining the board of Back2Work. Former Staffline Group plc and ITG Chair, Tracy Lewis will also join the business to provide further support to the management team.

Luke Muscat, Managing Director of Back2Work, said: “Since launching the business in 2011 B2W has always strived to deliver services that create a lasting impact, on the wellbeing, living standards and economic and environmental sustainability of the communities that we serve.”

“B2W supports individuals from a wide range of backgrounds to secure employment and to develop sustainable careers in growth sectors. It was imperative that we picked the right investment partner that shared our values and passion for social purpose. We are delighted to be starting the next stage of our journey with the Palatine Impact Fund and to have their unique expertise in Impact investing and ESG to support our future growth strategy”

Palatine’s award-winning Impact Fund was launched in 2017 and invests in profitable, growing businesses making a positive impact on the environment or society.

The returns-focused £100m fund, one of the first dedicated to impact investments in the UK mid-market, supports management buyouts, growth capital and buy-and-build models, investing between £5m and £10m.

Clydesdale Yorkshire Bank (Stephen Gater and Mhairi Ruddy) provided banking support on the deal.

Palatine’s legal advice was provided by Kieran Toal and James Skivington at Pinsent Masons; financial advice was provided by Jodi Birkett at Deloitte; and commercial advice was provided by Arun Kanwar and Alfred Chambers at Cairneagle Associates. Quinn Partnership provided management advice and insurance advice was provided by Marsh.

Back2Work was advised by Rob Burden and Kieran Virr at Clearwater International, and Jim Truscott and Mark Lupton at Beyond Corporate provided legal advice.