Connexin secures up to £35m for UK smart water meter rollout

Hull-headquartered Connexin has announced financing of up to £35m to expand its smart water meter network across the UK, bringing together Santander UK and funds managed by PATRIZIA.

The broadband firm's package, announced on 16 October 2026, is intended to increase deployment capacity as water companies seek more smart metering infrastructure, BusinessCloud reported.

What happened

The financing comprises four elements rather than a single £35m loan. Santander UK is providing a £10m facility alongside a £5m revolving trade facility, while PATRIZIA-managed funds are supplying £10m of financing. A further £10m accordion facility takes the total potential package to £35m.

The distinction between the core facilities and the accordion element means the headline figure describes the maximum financing package, rather than an amount reported as already spent on installation. The announcement did not provide interest rates, repayment terms or a drawdown schedule.

The transaction is described as potentially the first financing of its kind for a UK smart water meter network. That claim is qualified rather than presented as an independently established market first.

The background

Water scarcity, leakage and ageing infrastructure are among the pressures behind the push for smart metering. More detailed consumption information can help utilities locate losses, identify avoidable use and manage available water more efficiently.

The information also serves customers, giving them a clearer picture of consumption. The intended benefit therefore extends beyond replacing or connecting meters: the network provides data that can inform both household use and water company operations.

Connexin's technology proposition includes its ConnexinOS platform and business intelligence capabilities. These bring together information from meters and sensors, with the company aiming to turn billions of individual data points into information that utilities can use in operational decisions.

What people are saying

Furqan Alamgir, Connexin's founder and chief executive, said the company's ambition was to develop a data and intelligence layer for the water sector. He argued that collecting information would be valuable only if it helped operators make better decisions.

Alamgir identified anticipating problems and directing investment as uses for the technology. He said the financing would support Connexin's ambition to make infrastructure increasingly predictive, rather than simply provide connections to individual meters.

Jonathan Corcoran, director of specialised and project finance at Santander UK, said the bank viewed the project as an investment in the modernisation of essential public services. He linked its support to improvements in efficiency and resilience, alongside confidence in Connexin's growth plans.

For PATRIZIA, the investment case combines demand for essential services with opportunities to improve their operation. Phoebe Smith, its head of infrastructure fund management for Europe, said digital technology could make existing infrastructure more effective, citing leak detection and water resource management.

Luke Campbell MBE, Mayor of Hull and East Yorkshire, placed the transaction in the context of the region's digital economy ambitions. He said the investment demonstrated confidence in a locally established business and supported regional aims to attract inward investment and encourage innovation.

What happens next

The funding is earmarked for Connexin's next phase of network deployment. The company intends to use the additional capacity to respond to demand from UK water companies, although the announcement did not identify customers receiving new installations under this package.

No meter installation target, regional allocation or completion deadline was disclosed. The announcement also did not quantify expected reductions in leakage or consumption, leaving the scale and timing of those operational benefits unspecified.