A robotics firm that builds products for the construction industry has secured £1.6m in a funding round.
North Shields-based Q-Bot says the funding - which has come primarily from existing investors and was led by EMV Capital - will allow it to ramp up rollout of its robot which remotely applies underfloor insulation beneath suspended floors.
The firm, which employs about 38 people at its Orion Business Park base, said the funding will help it meet rising demand for its products in the UK and overseas.
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Peter Childs, chair of Q-Bot Ltd and professor at Imperial College London, said: "We are pleased that following the strategy review and changes to the company launched by the board in 2021, we are now seeing accelerated growth for the business in terms of sales, the on-boarding of a series of key partners and continued investor support.
"We recognise the challenges associated with rising energy bills and are fortunate to be part of worthwhile solutions to reducing energy demands and associated emissions and costs. We are looking forward to being able to offer our quality assured underfloor thermal insulation to even more homes in the coming year.”
Q-Bot describes itself as the UK's leading developer of robots for the construction and retrofit industry. Its latest innovation is designed to make energy efficiency adjustments to properties easy and cut disruption to householders.
The firm operates a network of installation partners and says it is working with social and private landlords, as well as homeowners. It has already helped to insulate more than 3,000 properties.
Since late 2021 Q-Bot has also been working overseas and points to a partnership with a large national insulation company and local installer in France.
Dr Ilian Iliev, managing director of EMV Capital, said: “Q-Bot’s robotics as a service offering is at the right place and right time, providing a massively scalable solution not only to the transition to a low-carbon economy, but to the current crisis in growing households energy bills and energy security. We’re pleased also with growing international interest in the technology, which can see a further step-change in growth in future years.”
