Technology firm attracts £1.2m investment

TECHNOLOGY firm Peratech has secured £1.2m of new investment which will allow it to increase staff numbers and build new laboratory facilities.

The company is based around a material developed by chief technical officer David Lussey that can act as both an insulator and conductor.

Finance Yorkshire has now agreed a £1.2m mezzanine deal with Peratech which is based at Brompton-on-Swale near Richmond.

Chief financial and operations officer Doug Balderston said: “David’s experiment to find a conductive adhesive went wrong and resulted in the creation of QTC™ Material – and that is now the basis for a Yorkshire company that has generated millions of pounds worth of sales around the world.

“In the next three to five years, we expect to grow our customer base and increase the value of the business to in excess of £100m.

“We already have a number of significant contracts around the world including Japan and the U.S which are being managed by our in-house team very effectively. However, we have a desire to grow further and attract more contracts and to do that we need to expand our operations and invest in resources, staff and research and development.”

Peratech’s product, known at QTC Material, is used in switching and sensing system found in robotics, defence and telecommunications.

Mr Balderston added: “We’re in a strong position in that we don’t need the money now as we’re capable of organic growth through the customers and contracts we currently have.

“But the technology sector grows very fast so leaving it to organic growth alone puts us at a disadvantage because it risks being left behind by competitors. At the moment, we don’t have any competitors, but that’s not to say we won’t have in the future.”