Ara Partners Acquires a Majority Interest in Wattstor

LONDON, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Wattstor, the fast-growing provider of automated carbon reduction and electricity cost-saving technology for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-market industrial and commercial (I&C) end users, is proud to announce a majority growth equity investment from Ara Partners, a private equity firm that specializes in industrial decarbonization investments. janom, Wattstor's main existing investor, will a retain a minority interest, reflecting its confidence in the business, management team and Ara's vision.

Headquartered in the UK and Czech Republic, Wattstor currently operates sites in the UK, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Croatia and Poland. The company plans to use the new funding to increase its European foothold, launch its Energy-as-a-Service (EaaS) finance offering, boost R&D, and expand the team by more than 50% over the next year.

Wattstor was founded in 2013 in Cornwall, UK, where the company developed its first Energy Management System (EMS) for residential sites. janom, a Slovakian private equity investor, made a significant investment in 2017 to further R&D, kick-start the advancement into the second iteration of its EMS, its battery energy storage solution and pivoting the company towards the SME and mid-market I&C sectors. Wattstor soon gained traction with its revolutionary approach, building a reputation as a leader in these markets for simplifying sustainability and energy savings with their technology.

Stephan Marty, CEO at Wattstor, commented, "Wattstor is delighted to partner with Ara Partners, which is well aligned with our views on the market and arising opportunities. Ara's existing portfolio of investments is complementary to Wattstor's position in the market, and it will help us to deliver our simple-yet-sophisticated carbon reduction and cost-saving technology to I&C end-users across new regions as well as to launch a fully financed EaaS solution which will be a game changer for the adoption of behind-the-meter generation plus storage technologies. As the energy crisis in Europe has proven, the growth of renewable energy combined with generally higher and increasingly volatile electricity prices shows Wattstor's offering is needed more than ever. We are proud to be backed by an investor that is completely focused on its portfolio of sustainable enterprises, and we very much look forward to accelerating our growth plans over the coming months."