Waveblade cash tops £1.1m amid global roll-out

A DUNBARTONSHIRE start-up that has developed a “groundbreaking” submersible power tool has secured fresh six-figure funding in a bid to take its technology global.

Waveblade was invented by Ayrshire-based boat enthusiast and entrepreneur Hugh Fisher. It claims to be the world’s first submersible handheld power tool to remove fouling from boats and other submerged surfaces.

The company of the same name, which is based in Dumbarton, has raised £610,000 in a second round of funding from existing investors Kelvin Capital and the Scottish Investment Bank, part of Scottish Enterprise. It takes the total funding since last September to more than £1.1 million.

Part of the latest cash injection is being ringfenced to help finance a trial project with an unnamed oil and gas major to test Waveblade products on subsea pipes.

The firm’s chief executive, Steve Smith, said: “In the past year we have seen remarkable interest and there is incredible global potential for our unique products in a whole range of commercial sectors.”

Paula Skinner, a partner at law firm Harper Macleod, which advised on both funding rounds, added: “There is an appetite to invest in innovative, high-growth companies and it is often a case of bringing these businesses together with the right investors.”

l Scottish Equity Partners has led a £1.2m investment in SocialBro, a London-based software company that enables businesses to manage, analyse and monetise various Twitter communities.

SCOTT REID