Bglobal wins funding

‘Smart metering’ specialist Bglobal has obtained up to £15 million asset funding from Barclays Asset Sales & Finance.

The Lancashire-based company, which assembles meter parts made in South East Asia, Australia and the UK and aims to sell on future rental streams upfront to finance houses in deals similar to leasing, argues it now has an ‘excellent long-term opportunity’. Smart meters, primarily for electricity and gas, communicate detailed consumption and other information, including times of use, to utilities and this information could be useful not only for optimal pricing but also to help tailor use so as to cut carbon emissions, for example.

AIM-quoted Bglobal, which claims 30 per cent of the market for businesses spending at least £50,000 a year on electricity, hopes to cash in on the UK Government’s programme to have smart meters installed in every home by 2020 at a projected cost of £7 billion, says chief executive officer Tony Barnes. The company, which lost £2 million in the six months to November, was hit last year by the withdrawal of bank asset funding in the credit crunch.

Barnes, who recently replaced founder and largest shareholder Peter Kennedy at the helm, says the company ‘was confident’ this funding hiatus ‘would be a short-term issue’ and is pleased ‘the challenge has now been overcome’. He says Bglobal is forming a division to handle direct sales to the public and says he does not expect the company will need any more funding in the foreseeable future.

Floated two years ago at 50p, Bglobal shares have fluctuated between 32.75p and 8.63p over the past year and now stand at 12.25p. This values the company at £8.3 million and could offer scope for potential medium-term improvement.