Aquam Water Services & Orbis Intelligent Systems

Visit website https://www.orbis-sys.com/

Background

In June 2020, Cadence backed the simultaneous acquisition of Aquam Water Services (AWS) and Orbis Intelligent Systems in a £50m transaction

The company

AWS is a provider of outsourced services to the UK water industry. It serves end-users in a wide range of sectors requiring temporary access to water networks.

AWS’ growing technology offering, developed by Orbis, includes network sensors, asset tracking and an associated data visualisation platform.

This helps utilities gather important network data which assists them in meeting operational and regulatory requirements.

AWS employs 60 staff across its head office and eight regional depots.

Orbis was established in 2017 in San Diego (USA) and develops innovative Intelligent Modules used on utility infrastructure to monitor for example flows, pipe condition and leakage. It serves customers in North America, Europe and Australasia.

Opportunity

The combined group meets the needs of water customers, including UK utilities and North American Commercial and Municipal users, through the provision of specialist services, know-how and technology solutions; a perfect example of the type of Applied Technology company Cadence aims to back.

Analysists are forecasting a significant growth in demand for these “Digital Water Services” as both public and private sector users worldwide are looking to protect and optimise use of an increasingly scarce resource.

In Phil Walker and Danny Krywyj, Cadence is backing an experienced team operating in a specialist market with long standing customer relationships and excellent references.

Based on these solid foundations, Cadence is looking forward to supporting the team’s ambitious long term growth plans.

Cadence difference

Although initially presented as two separate businesses, Cadence quickly identified the benefits of bringing AWS and Orbis under single management.

Together with management we determined how the combination could unlock growth opportunities including:

  • Accelerating the growth in data-led services with existing AWS customers
  • Create new opportunities for Orbis based on AWS’ customer references and track record
  • Help drive international expansion
“This is an exciting development for the business. Bringing on board additional investment now means we have an even stronger base for future growth and to build out our data platform and services. Cadence’s financial, strategic and operational support will be invaluable in the successful integration of AWS and Orbis, allowing us to capitalise on the combined strengths of the businesses and invest for long term growth. Having such a supportive partner on board during the next phase of our journey provides us with the confidence to scale up our plans.”
Phil Walker, CEO of AWS

Reliable partner

This relatively complex cross border transaction completed in June 2020 during the first Covid lockdown, a time of great uncertainty.

We continued to believe in the opportunity and, maintaining a constant dialogue with the vendors, were able to offer an attractive, innovative deal structure meeting all parties’ objectives.

This demonstrates that Cadence can be a supportive and reliable partner for the right opportunity regardless of the circumstances.