Energy company Centrica plc has acquired FlowGem Ltd, an early stage UK-based business developing unique and innovative technology to remotely detect water leaks, for £13 million.
Centrica has acquired the innovative leak detection capability to enhance its Connected Home offering, further strengthening Centrica Connected Home as a leading Internet of Things business. The energy company said the acquisition adds distinctive new capabilities in the area of leak detection to the Hive product portfolio and complements Centrica’s home services businesses in the UK and North America.
The acquisition forms part of Centrica’s plans to invest £500 million of operating costs and capital resources in Connected Home by 2020, designed to build out the Hive brand and drive expansion into new domains and geographies. It is the latest in a series of announcements over the past 18 months which has seen Centrica:
- Complete the acquisition of AlertMe, a leader in Connected Home technology
- Introduce a suite of new Connected Home products under the Hive brand, including Hive Motion Sensors, Hive Active Plugs™ and Hive Active Light™ bulbs; the Hive Active Heating™ smart thermostat is the UK market leader
- Introduce the UK’s first connected boiler, Boiler IQ, which remotely detects faults in boilers
Nina Bhatia, Managing Director of Centrica’s Connected Home business, said:
“This acquisition will enable us to expand what we can do to help customers manage their homes more effectively using technology, and will enrich the offer from our existing services businesses.
“We are very excited to be extending our capabilities in this new area of leak detection, as we look to 2017.”
Daniel Green, CEO, FlowGem Limited, commented:
“We have pioneered the use of Internet of Things technologies to detect in-building water issues and want to enable people to take action like never before. We are delighted that our technology will have a place in homes in the future as part of the Hive ecosystem.”
Founded in 2014, UK –based FlowGem has invented an innovative Internet of Things technology in water leak detection and flow monitoring.
Centrica currently supplies energy and energy-related services to around 28 million customer accounts mainly in the UK, Ireland and North America, through brands such as British Gas, Bord Gáis Energy and Direct Energy, supported by around 12,000 engineers and technicians.
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