Berti Invests £750k in BGA 2013 winner GEO

A provider of residential home energy management systems, Green Energy Options (GEO), has secured a total of £3m of funding to support the further development of its web services and product portfolio.

The Cambridge-based firm provides in-home displays, as well as mobile and online services for electricity, water, gas, heat, boilers and microgeneration. GEO’s software and technology platforms are designed to complement its hardware products, enabling consumers to view their home energy data securely via their PCs or smartphones.

The funding round was led by the Low Carbon Innovation Fund (LCIF), a low carbon specialist investment fund managed by specialist energy and environment merchant bank, Turquoise International. Following the selection of the Berti Green Accelerator winners, Berti co-invested alongside Turquoise to help close the round.

Patrick Caiger-Smith, at GEO, commented: “The investment received through the funding round will enable us to further develop our world-leading systems. Working in conjunction with the government’s smart meter roll-out programme, we intend to help consumers get a better understanding of their energy consumption and migrate to an energy efficient home.”

Desmond Astley-Cooper, at Turquoise International, which oversees the LCIF fund, said: “GEO’s innovative smart energy systems give consumers the ability to shape their own energy consumption. Being able to measure energy usage easily will enable consumers in the UK and beyond to manage energy demand, saving money and reducing environmental impact.”

LCIF is a low carbon specialist investment fund which is managed by Turquoise International on behalf of the Low Carbon Group at the University of East Anglia and supported by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). It has more than £20m of ERDF funding that will be combined with some £30m of private sector capital to generate more than £50m of low carbon investments.