Pioneering technology company Gas Tag has secured a multi-million pound investment from leading private equity house Waterland.

The deal, which values Gas Tag at well in excess of £20million, will enable the business to continue to scale up rapidly both within the UK and internationally.

In return for the investment, Waterland will gain a minority stake and two of its senior team will join the board of the Liverpool-headquartered company.

Waterland Private Equity has been established in Europe since 1999 but only launched its UK office in early 2017. It recently moved into larger offices in Wilmslow to house its growing team, which works with entrepreneurial companies across the UK and Ireland.

Waterland was named the top performing private equity firm in the world in 2016 by private equity analytics firm Peracs. The Gas Tag deal is the first investment made by Waterland’s UK team.

Gas Tag was founded in 2015 by Paul Durose and Stephen Ullathorne and already has a number of high-profile customers and significant order book. It harnesses bespoke technology to help landlords, housing associations and local authorities to combat the scourge of illegal gas fitters and enforce gas safety regulations.

As soon as a physical Gas Tag is installed on the gas outlet in a property, the software platform tracks and records all of the property’s gas appliances and any gas works carried out at the property – and can only be used by qualified Gas Safe registered engineers.

Since launching earlier this year, Gas Tag has won the backing of a number of MPs and industry figures, who believe the company’s technology can bring about a revolution in gas safety.

Stephen Ullathorne said: “The Waterland investment will be transformational for Gas Tag. The funding and support of their experienced team will enable us to rapidly accelerate the growth of the business in the UK and internationally. We didn’t just want an investor, we wanted a partner and Waterland stood out as the perfect fit with our ambitions for Gas Tag.

“There is a growing acceptance across the industry that it is no longer acceptable to leave gas safety to chance. Gas Tag is unique in providing housing associations, local authorities and landlords with a real time, proactive approach to gas safety.

“We are already looking beyond gas and adding further game-changing products aimed at safety compliance. Constant innovation and new product development is central to our long-term business strategy.

“Our technology saves time, money and, ultimately, lives.”

Barry Sheerman, MP and Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Carbon Monoxide Group, has described Gas Tag as “the most significant quantum leap in domestic gas safety compliance in 20 years”.

Waterland UK’s Managing Director, Andy Scaife, and Senior Investment Manager Ryan Hallworth, will join the board of Gas Tag.

Andy Scaife said: “Gas Tag is a hugely exciting and innovative company, exactly the kind of business Waterland looks to invest in. We are delighted that this is the first investment by our UK team.

“We were impressed by the vision of the company and its senior management team. As soon as we met with Paul and Stephen and saw the impact Gas Tag was making in the industry, we knew it was an investment we wanted to make.

“We believe in building dynamic partnerships with our clients and look forward to working with the Gas Tag team as they roll out their various products in the UK and internationally.”

In order to complete the deal, Gas Tag was advised by Brabners (Mark Rathbone). Waterland was advised by Deloitte for Corporate Finance (Andy Westbrook and Tom Cooke), Financial Due Diligence (Richard Bell and Dan Wright) Tax services (Sean Beech), CIL for Commercial Due Diligence (Seb Chambers and James de La Salle) with Hill Dickinson (David Mkhitarian and James Down) providing legal advice.

Image: Gas Tag completes Private Equity deal (L-R) Ryan Hallworth (Senior Investment Manager, Waterland), Paul Durose (CEO, Gas Tag), Stephen Ullathorne (CEO, Gas Tag), George Dutton (Finance Director, Gas Tag), Andy Scaife (Waterland UK’s Managing Director)