Oxfordshire-based P2i, pioneers of a liquid-repellent technology employed by smartphone manufacturers, has received a £10 million pound funding package from Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank’s growth finance team.
P2i has already applied its innovative water resistant nano-coating solution to more than 175 million smartphones, making them world leaders in the field.
Globally, 900,000 smartphones are damaged by liquids every day, at an estimated cost of $96 billion to the mobile ecosystem every year, according to analyst firm IDC. Liquid damage is the second most common type of phone damage, behind smashed screens.
The financial package will be used by P2i to fund a period of forecasted growth and allow them to expand their business even further. The firm already has 142 members of staff and 123 granted patents.
The deal was delivered by Steve Clark and Usman Ali from the bank’s growth finance team, a specialist UK-wide team that provides senior lending for innovative and rapidly expanding businesses with strong intellectual property assets and existing venture capital.
“It is a fantastic opportunity and an absolute pleasure to be able to fund such an innovative company. P2i are stretching the boundaries of the British technology scene and we are thrilled to help them with their journey. We look forward to working with them as they continue to grow,” Steve Clark, senior director of growth finance at Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank said.
P2i has grown in revenue by 65 per cent year-on-year and became profitable in 2016. P2i currently has facilities in Shenzhen and Taipei, but according to group CEO Ady Moores, the company is now looking to ramp up its Asia focus.
“Today, nine out of the top ten handset manufacturers come from this part of the world, so it is particularly important that we are able to service this market properly and take advantage of the business opportunities opening up there right now,” he said.
This year, P2i will be participating in IP100, a league table of IP-rich companies in the UK, also backed by Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank.
