CONSULTANCIES MERGE TO CREATE FAST-GROWING PROPERTY SERVICES COMPANY

Health and safety wearable SpaceBands invests £450k to expand

Bristol-based social distancing devices pioneer SpaceBands has built on its success during the pandemic and expanded into the wider health and safety market with a £450,000 investment.

SpaceBands’ first wrist-worn device, launched in May 2020, helped employees stay safe during the pandemic by storing contact tracing data and vibrating when users are less than two metres apart.

Bristol’s oldest independent property consultancy, ETP, has merged with CSquared Real Estate which says it is the newest and fastest-growing company in the sector, also based in the South-West.

ETP can trace its roots back to 1878 and offers property services, with particular expertise in valuation and building consultancy.

The current leadership team has scaled the business in recent years having consolidated around a number of highprofile corporate contracts.

CSquared opened in Bristol in 2020, expanding out from its base in Bath.

Success and growth followed especially after the firm made some senior hires drawn from the Bristol agency market.

The combined business, which will trade as CSquared, has a multi-million pound turnover.

Its services include occupational, investment and development agency as well as property management, building consultancy project management, valuation and lease advisory specialisms.

The company will operate from the current ETP head office on Alma Road, Bristol until a larger premises is secured, and CSquared’s Bath office.

The company sold its devices to more than 1,000 businesses – including the likes of the NHS, MoD, Panasonic, Sony & Amazon – and is now leveraging that customer base to expand its new multi-feature hazard alert system, tackling a broader spectrum of workplace safety issues.

Workplace injury and ill health costs the UK economy £16.2 billion annually, according to the Health and Safety Executive, and can devastate lives and families.

SpaceBands’ latest wearable addresses these challenges by prompting employees to take action on wellness and helping employers to make more informed decisions about workplace safety.

The device monitors heart rate, prompts users to take a break and alerts them to hazards such as dangerously loud noises or close machine proximity.

OCO Technology signs multi-million-pound Covanta recycling deal

Bristol-based OCO Technology has signed a multi-million-pound contract to recycle air pollution control residues (APCr) from two new Energy Recovery Facilities being operated by Covanta.

OCO Technology has developed a Carbon Capture and Utilisation (CCU) process to treat and stabilise thermal residues and turn them into sustainable construction products.

It is currently one of only a few UK companies to hold Environment Agency End of Waste approval, classifying the finished aggregate as a product.

OCO will take significant tonnage of APCr per year from the facilities using its pioneering Accelerated Carbonation Technology to turn the waste into a sought-after carbon negative aggregate – known as Manufactured LimeStone.

Lizzie Bayley, OCO’s new Legal and Commercial Manager, who has been leading the negotiations, says the agreement marks another major milestone in the growth of OCO.

“We are delighted that the partnership with Covanta has recognised the huge potential our technology offers for both APCr recycling and safe and sustainable carbon capture,” she said.