A company with technology designed to make homes across the UK more sustainable is gearing up for expansion after securing £5 million of investment.
Glasgow-based Utopi said it will create 50 new jobs as it rolls out its energy consumption monitoring and impact technology across a wider market. The firm currently supplies its operating system to build-to-rent specialist Moda Living, which has a portfolio of apartment blocks across the UK including major developments in Glasgow and Edinburgh.
The investment has been provided by the Scottish National Investment Bank, whose remit includes support for technologies that assist in the transition to net zero. Figures have indicated that Utopi's technology could cut 6,500 tonnes of carbon emissions from multi-resident buildings over three years.
“This investment will support our ambitious plan to become the number one ESG technology platform in our target markets," chief executive Jonathan Burridge said. Data-driven transformation is essential to reducing global carbon emissions, and with the support of the bank, we can reach audiences around the world sooner.”
Utopi is currently working with Moda at its 476-home neighbourhood The McEwan in Edinburgh to monitor the energy consumption of individual properties located in the residential building. Residents and building managers have access to real-time data to indicate carbon emission levels.
Moda operations director Amanda Rennie said empowering the group's residents to live a green lifestyle is a "huge" priority.
"Utopi’s technology allows us to interact with the efficiency of our buildings in a way that’s completely unique to the residential sector – at Moda, The McEwan and at our rental neighbourhoods across the UK," she added.
"We look forward to working together with Utopi and seeing the technology in action having secured this well-deserved investment from the Scottish National Investment Bank.”
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