BuildingIQ lists on the ASX after $20m IPO

Australian-founded energy management software company BuildingIQ has begun trading on the Australian Securities Exchange, after successfully raising $20 million in an Initial Public Offering.

The ASX listing was announced on Thursday, with the money raised set to go towards expanding the company’s global market reach, enhancing its technology platform, increasing operational support and opening a new Southeast Asian office.

Based on technology developed by the CSIRO, BuildingIQ’s Predictive Energy Optimisation platform works with commercial buildings to manage their heating and cooling operations based on variables including weather forecasts, energy prices, tenant comfort, building characteristics and demand response events.

Small changes in temperature and pressure result in savings of up to 25 percent in heating, ventilation and air conditioning energy costs.

The software has won several awards, including a National Energy Efficiency Industry Award for Best Commercial Energy Efficiency Project by EEC Australia; and the NSW gong for sustainability in this year’s Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA) 2015 iAwards program.

It has also won a Bloomberg New Energy Pioneers Award, Fierce Innovation Awards’ “Best in Show”, a Cool Vendor in Green IT and Sustainability by Gartner and listed on the Global Cleantech 100 and AlwaysOn Going Green Global 200.

In July this year, the company sealed a deal with BSA Group – a technical and commercial services provider with a network of more than 500 contracting companies – to integrate BuildingIQ’s PEO into its services across major shopping centers, office buildings and hospitals around Australia.

Currently, it has more than 140 buildings under management of its platform, including utilities, hospitals, universities, office buildings, casinos, hotels, and government facilities in Australia and the US.

BuildingIQ also has partnerships with major industry players including Siemens and Schneider Electric.

The decision to list on the ASX was first floated in April, after a second round of private funding. It was reported that, after trying to crack the US market, BuildingIQ was shifting its focus to Australia, where Nark said there existed a better opportunity to create “win-win partnerships”.

In a statement on Thursday, the now California-based company said it was offered around 20 million Chess Depository Receipts in the company at A$1.00 each, with an indicative market capitalisation of approximately $A85 million (on a fully-diluted basis).

“With global energy demand, rising electricity prices, and the growing requirement for efficiency and sustainability, building owners and managers are increasing their focus on controllable operating costs, such as energy,” said BuildingIQ president and CEO Michael Nark.

“As this landscape continues to advance, intelligent and dynamic platforms like ours are becoming an integral part of the facility management tool kit.

“We are excited to begin this next phase of growth by using the investment support we’ve gained to expand our reach and build upon our product offerings for both customers and partners,” Nark said.