Peratech to grow after £1.2m injection

Peratech, which has its headquarters in Brompton on Swale near Richmond, specialises in Quantum Tunnelling Composite (QTC) technology, which was invented by David Lussey, chief technical officer.

QTC materials are a class of materials developed to advance the capability of switching and sensing systems and are already widely used in robotics, defence and telecommunications. The material acts as “a near-perfect insulator”, unless it is deformed or stressed, in which case it starts to conduct. With sufficient pressure metallic conductivity levels can be achieved, the company said.

The mezzanine deal with Finance Yorkshire is a loan investment agreement with a small equity-linked exit bonus. Chief financial and operations officer Doug Balderston said: “We’re in a strong position in that we don’t need the money now as we’re capable of organic growth through the customers and contracts we currently have.

“But the technology sector grows very fast so leaving it to organic growth alone puts us at a disadvantage because it risks being left behind by competitors. At the moment, we don’t have any competitors, but that’s not to say we won’t have in the future.”

He added: “David’s experiment to find a conductive adhesive went wrong and resulted in the creation of QTC material – and that is now the basis for a Yorkshire company that has generated millions of pounds worth of sales around the world. In the next three to five years, we expect to grow our customer base and increase the value of the business to in excess of £100m.

“We already have a number of contracts around the world including Japan and the US which are being managed by our in-house team very effectively. However, we’ve a desire to grow further and attract more contracts and to do that we need to expand our operations and invest in resources, staff and research and development.”

Peratech currently has a head count of 25. The firm declined to disclose turnover.