Xeros, a spin-out of Leeds University that commercialised “virtually waterless” laundry cleaning technology, has received £10m ($14.88m) in a series B led by investment manager Invesco Perpetual and joined by existing backers.
Invesco reportedly invested £6m ($8.93m) of the overall sum. The consortium of investors which provided the remaining £4m ($5.95m) included venture firm Enterprise Ventures, Finance Yorkshire, Parkwalk Advisors, Entrepreneurs Funds, and commercialisation manager the IP Group.
The group of backers, along with the Rising Stars Growth Fund, invested in Xeros in 2010 in a £3.5m ($5.65m) series A round, bringing the UK-based firm’s venture funding total to $20.5m. Enterprise also invested in Xeros in 2009 in a £920k ($1.37m) seed round.
Xeros focuses on the development of washing machines that use nylon polymer beads which attract dirt during a spin-cycle. The Yorkshire-based firm plans to use the latest tranche of funding to push out its household system to the consumer market in a bid to replace traditional machines.
Bill Westwater, chief executive officer of Xeros, said: “We have a big but simple idea: to convert the traditional world of aqueous washing to Xeros bead cleaning. Our superior cleaning method delivers a whole variety of benefits to people, businesses and the environment. This fundraise represents another milestone in our journey towards making that idea a reality.”
