Finance Yorkshire Welcomes Xeros Flotation

26th March 2014

The flotation of cleaning technology company Xeros was today (25 March) welcomed by Finance Yorkshire, one of the key investors in the Rotherham-based business.

Xeros, which makes environmentally friendly washing machines, had a market value of £80m when it was admitted to AIM at the start of its first day's trading today. Finance Yorkshire has made repeated investments in Xeros from its Seedcorn Fund since 2010 when Xeros' technology emerged as a spin out from Leeds University. A total £1.45 million has been invested by Finance Yorkshire over three funding rounds. Alex McWhirter, Chief Executive of Finance Yorkshire, said: -Xeros is a great Yorkshire success story an outstanding example of a technology-based company that has developed through innovation and some fantastic engineering an idea which now has huge potential to revolutionise the commercial and domestic laundry sectors. -Xeros' success demonstrates the value of Finance Yorkshire's Seedcorn fund. We invest in early stage companies so they can grow, become successful and reach the point where, like Xeros, they can raise additional capital from the markets to fund their expansion. Finance Yorkshire Investment Director Julian Viggars, who remains on the Xeros plc board, added: -The Finance Yorkshire investment will allow the company to exploit fully the range of potential applications, alongside commercial and domestic laundry. Xeros is a great example of what we set out to achieve at Finance Yorkshire. We have helped to support a very innovative Yorkshire based business, with great commercial prospects and a range of applications in markets worldwide. Xeros is selling its commercial laundry systems in the UK, wider Europe and the US and is due to launch its domestic machine, initially in the US. Xeros cleans clothes with very little water and Xeros polymer beads. The patented cleaning system comprises a special washing machine designed to release the beads into the drum for cleaning and remove the beads from the clothes once the cleaning is complete. The Xeros system delivers superior cleaning results compared to conventional washing while at the same time using up to 80% less water, 50% less energy and 50% less detergent. Finance Yorkshire is supported financially by the European Union. It has attracted £30million investment from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of Europe's support for the region's economic development through the Yorkshire and Humber ERDF Programme, £15million from UK Government and £45million match funding from the European Investment Bank. For more information about Finance Yorkshire, please visit www.finance-yorkshire.com or call 0845 649 0000.