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Centrica strengthens its Hive IoT offering with eight-figure acquisition of London startup

London-based startup FlowGen Limited has been snapped up by the parent company of British Gas in a £13m deal that serves to further expand the energy giant’s Internet of Things (IoT) technology offering.

The eight-figure deal for the firm, which specialises in water leak detection, is part of Centrica’s £500m IoT investment plan for its Hive Connected Home system which has already seen the acquisition of Cambridge smart home firm AlertMe and the introduction of a various smart energy innovations.

In a statement to the London Stock Exchange which announced the deal, the multinational energy firm said that the addition of FlowGem’s leak detection technologies would complement Centrica’s services both in the UK and across the Atlantic.

Nina Bhatia, Managing Director of Centrica’s Connected Home business, commented: “This acquisition will enable us to expand what we can do to help customers manage their homes more effectively using technology, and will enrich the offer from our existing services businesses.

“We are very excited to be extending our capabilities in this new area of leak detection, as we look to 2017.

Daniel Green, Chief Executive Officer at FlowGem, which was only founded in 2014, added: “We have pioneered the use of Internet of Things technologies to detect in-building water issues and want to enable people to take action like never before.

“We are delighted that our technology will have a place in homes in the future as part of the Hive ecosystem.”

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