Aquam Water Services (AWS) and Orbis Intelligent Systems (Orbis) have been acquired from parent company Aquam by the Management team, supported by Cadence Equity Partners, in partnership with Unigestion. Combining these two businesses and their cutting-edge technologies, will create lots of exciting opportunities for customers from both companies.
Orbis has a range of innovative, non-invasive pipeline monitoring solutions, that will benefit AWS’s utility customers in the UK.
Using the Orbis’ secure ADARI portal, water companies and their partners will be able to accurately monitor flow parameters and assess the condition of pipelines. This data will help utilities proactively manage their networks more efficiently so they can meet stringent regulatory requirements in the UK.
Combining Orbis’ infrastructure monitoring technologies and AWS’s standpipe services also creates exciting new opportunities to expand further into North America, targeting municipal and commercial users. Other international expansion opportunities can be expected for AWS and Orbis as pressure on water networks increases, driven by climate change and population growth.
Phil Walker chief executive of AWS says, “The combination of AWS and Orbis will create significant benefits for both AWS and Orbis customers. Orbis’ technologies, embraced by the major UK utilities, provides previously unobtainable data for recovering lost water revenue, leak location, and understanding burst and interruption events. AWS provides Orbis with a ready-made platform and infrastructure for penetration into the UK and international markets.”
Pieter Hooft and Jamie Szpiro led Cadence’s team for the transaction and will join the AWS board as non-executive directors. In a statement they say, “AWS and Orbis meet the needs of a wide range of water users, including UK water utilities and North American commercial and municipal users, with specialist services and know-how.
“This is a perfect example of the type of applied technology business Cadence aims to support. In Phil Walker and Danny Krywyj, we are backing a proven team in two businesses with long-term customer relationships and excellent references. The team has ambitious plans and we look forward to supporting their strategic growth.”
About Cadence Equity Partners
Cadence Equity Partners is an independent and entrepreneurial private equity firm investing in applied technology and technology enabled businesses in the UK lower and mid-market. As a long term, supportive investor, Cadence provides flexible capital structures and
