Duvas Technologies Raises New Equity and Loan Funding

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) August 24, 2010 -- The additional equity and loan capital was raised from existing and new shareholders, including lead investor the South East Seed Fund, managed by Finance South East (FSE) and Gulfvest Limited, introduced to Duvas via the Angel Capital Group.

Duvas was spun out of Imperial College in 2008 by Verdetech Investments Limited (the venture capital arm of MDT (UK) Limited) and Imperial Innovations. Existing shareholders, including Verdetech and the executive management team also invested during the new funding round.

Duvas produces a proprietary multi-species gas analyser based upon proven Ultra Violet spectroscopy with proprietary technology and know-how. The product’s initial market is addressing Air Quality Management (AQM), although it also has applications in security/emergency response and oil and gas. AQM and air pollution are becoming of increasing concern to legislators throughout the world, including Europe where pollution related deaths now outstrip traffic deaths by 3:1 and, globally, 2-3 million deaths pa are caused by poor air quality. The Duvas system enables rapid monitoring and mapping of these gases that will ensure better decision making to minimise the impact on human health.

Duvas has already generated significant sales commitments this year for the production model and has signed a distribution deal with one of the leading UK/European Distributors in the AQM sector as well as securing sales to a major player in the security and emergency response sector.

Duvas was one of the winners of the inaugural (Dec 2009) ‘Best of British’ winners for BBC Focus Innovation Awards 2009.

Graham Smith, CEO of Duvas, commented “We are delighted to have secured a new round of investment from FSE and Gulfvest. We are also delighted that the existing shareholders increased their commitment to the business, demonstrating faith in both the significant technical achievements made to date and the potential for this product across a broad range of markets. The funding will provide the necessary working capital to fund product development and growth across our potential markets”.

Founder and Chairman Dr John Hassard added: “Duvas has applications in a wide range of areas, not just AQM and security/emergency response. We are attracting attention on a global basis where robust, real-time and highly sensitive detection and analysis are mandatory”.

Sally Goodsell, CEO of Finance South East Commented “Duvas Technologies is a great example of an innovative business with high-growth prospects. By developing a product with implications for the health of the population worldwide through its AQM applications, the company is tapping into a critical and potentially global market. The fact that it can be utilised beyond this market provides an even stronger basis for the future growth of the business. We are delighted to be supporting the company through the next stage of their development and believe the quality and promise of the product combined with a robust strategy and strong management team makes Duvas Technologies an excellent investment opportunity for the Seed Fund..”

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