In the UK new sales team members are being appointed across the country and the recently announced partnership with Price Industries will see the company expand further into the US market. The funding comes to Breathing Buildings from three very different organisations:
Firstly, the Berti Green Accelerator programme, an initiative supported by James Caan which seeks to champion entrepreneurial, low-carbon businesses in the UK. Breathing Buildings was announced as one of three recipients of the inaugural Berti Green Accelerator programme. In addition to a capital investment, Breathing Buildings will be working with Caan’s company, Hamilton Bradshaw Impact Partners, who will develop a bespoke business support strategy for Breathing Buildings, to be implemented over a six-month period.
When announcing the Berti winners, James Caan said of the Breathing Buildings team: “The passion and drive of the team was infectious and I was really impressed by their knowledge of the market, their product and their pricing.”
In addition, Breathing Buildings secured investment from the Adapt Low Carbon Group, based at the University of East Anglia. The fund provides equity finance for SMEs in the East of England and invests in early stage companies with a product or service that contributes to the reduction of carbon emissions.
John French, CEO of the Adapt Low Carbon Group said: “Breathing Buildings is a great example of a company which is really leading low carbon innovation in the UK. We were particularly impressed with the diverse range of buildings the company has worked on, coupled with having developed the natural ventilation for the first ever healthcare facility to be awarded a BREEAM ‘Outstanding’ certificate.*”
Breathing Buildings’ original investor, MMC Ventures, also contributed to the round. MMC Ventures is a venture capital fund investing in early stage, high growth UK companies. Breathing Buildings has been working with MMC since its original investment in July 2009 and has found the on-going commitment, advice and support from MMC fundamental to the successful growth of the business.
Bruce Macfarlane, Managing Partner, MMC Ventures commented: “We are delighted to be continuing our investment partnership with the team at Breathing Buildings, who are creating a real British growth and success story with their world-leading natural ventilation solutions. It’s fantastic that they have now attracted additional funding from the Adapt Low Carbon Group – and I’d like to congratulate them on becoming part of the Berti Green Accelerator programme supported by James Caan.”
Shaun Fitzgerald, Managing Director of Breathing Buildings added: “The coming together of all three funding strands makes this a very exciting time for Breathing Buildings. It enables us to roll out our UK plans for nationwide sales coverage and really push forward the business internationally with US-based Price Industries.
“Developing our sales presence across the UK is a priority and we are delighted that our first appointment, Amanda Brooks, joined the company at the end of October. Amanda is responsible for creating new business in the Midlands, with other appointments following shortly.”
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For further information please contact Sophie French or Kate Bowden Smith
Tel: + 44 (0)1394 276923 or Mob: + 44 (0)7808 901387
or Email: kate@pier-marketing.com or sophie@pier-marketing.com
*Natural ventilation specialist Breathing Buildings is part of the impressive line up of green technology that enabled Houghton-Le-Spring Health Centre to become the UK’s first ever BREEAM Outstanding Healthcare building certified at the final stage. This comes on top of the building achieving a BREEAM ‘Outstanding’ at the design stage for best practice in sustainable design and environmental performance for buildings. www.breeam.org
Breathing Buildings
Breathing Buildings plays a pivotal role in the UK’s Green Building sector by significantly reducing the energy required for heating and ventilating buildings. The company’s patented e-stack system provides low energy ventilation using the principles of mixing ventilation in winter and natural upward displacement ventilation in the summer. www.breathingbuildings.co.uk
Berti Green Accelerator programme & Berti Investments
The Berti Green Accelerator programme, which seeks to champion entrepreneurial, low-carbon businesses in the UK, is run by Berti Investments in partnership with James Caan’s company Hamilton Bradshaw Impact Partners. http://bertiinvestments.com/berti-green-accelerator
Berti Investments is a social impact investment company investing in innovative, growing, entrepreneurial, UK-based businesses whose strategy focuses on reducing carbon emissions. Although sustainable profit is important, Berti’s primary objective is the environmental impact of its investments. Powered by the Bertha Foundation, whose strategy focuses on social impact, Berti's investments focus on tackling climate change with all profits made being reinvested and not distributed to shareholders.
Adapt Low Carbon Group
The Adapt Low Carbon Group brings together a broad range of expertise and builds on the widely acknowledged successes of the University of East Anglia's business activities in the low carbon sector.
Based at Norwich Research Park (NRP), Adapt promotes enterprising low carbon concerns and works closely with the Norwich Business School and the School of Environmental Sciences.
MMC Ventures
Founded in 2000, MMC Ventures is an active investor and award-winning venture fund manager, focused on technology-enabled sectors where the UK is a world leader - particularly financial and business services, business software, digital media and e-commerce. Having raised a total of approx £100 million, MMC invests around £10 million per annum, in a combination of new investments and add-on capital for existing portfolio companies. MMC specialises in fast-growth early-stage UK-based businesses, partnering with entrepreneurs and impressive management teams to achieve substantial scale and profitability.
MMC’s existing portfolio includes AlexandAlexa, Base79, Interactive Investor, Knowledge Mill, LoveHomeSwap and Reevoo.
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For further information please contact: Cordelia Meacher, FieldHouse Associates,
E: cordelia@fieldhouseassociates.com T: +44 (0) 7961 311080.
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