Fireangel Regulatory News (FA.)

12 September 2018

FireAngel Safety Technology Group plc

("FireAngel" or the "Company" or the "Group")

Partner Agreement

FireAngel (AIM: FA.), one of Europe's leading developers and suppliers of home safety products, announces that it has signed an exclusive partnering agreement (the "Agreement") with Mears Limited ("Mears"), a subsidiary of Mears plc, the provider of support services to the Housing and Care sectors in the UK, which is responsible for the maintenance, repair and upgrade of over 700,000 properties across the UK.

Under the terms of the Agreement, the Company will supply Mears with an integrated connected home management system (the "System"). The System uses FireAngel's Wi-Safe 2 wireless interlink technology to connect the Company's smoke, heat and carbon monoxide alarms to a cloud-based system, for remote monitoring by, and instant notifications delivered to, Mears. The System includes a touch screen smart panel, and a home automation hub (which will be sold to Mears' clients) that enables continuous monitoring by Mears of the Company's alarms located within Mears' clients' properties, ensuring timely updates and notifications. 

Mears has agreed to introduce FireAngel's UK Trade team to a number of its clients in the housing sector with immediate effect. Pursuant to the Agreement, FireAngel will become the preferred safety product provider for Mears, fitting FireAngel smoke, heat and carbon monoxide alarms across its UK property portfolio.

FireAngel and Mears will jointly develop the bespoke interface required to integrate the System with Mears' management control system. FireAngel will charge Mears a monthly subscription fee per connection, giving the Company a recurring revenue steam and increased visibility on its future revenues. Mears has committed to deliver a minimum number of connections during the term of the minimum three year Agreement.

The System is accessed via a wall mounted touchscreen tablet and will allow the tenants of Mears' clients' properties to review safety information, report service issues to, and schedule maintenance appointments with, Mears. The System will enable Mears' clients to streamline maintenance management processes by facilitating direct interaction with tenants when seeking to arrange repairs and maintenance visits. Alongside FireAngel's Wi-Safe 2 network, the System utilises Z-Wave1 wireless communication technology, providing the potential for the System in future to connect with other devices and offer additional functionality.

The System will also include FireAngel Predict™, FireAngel's unique, patent pending, predictive algorithm technology. Using a combination of the Company's cloud-based technology alongside its predictive algorithm, data from properties will be gathered in real time over the internet allowing FireAngel Predict™ to identify those properties with an increased risk of fire. Once these properties have been identified, appropriate action can be taken ahead of a potential event occurring.

Graham Whitworth, Executive Chairman of FireAngel, commented:

"Following significant R&D investment, I am pleased to announce our collaboration with Mears, which takes our smart, connected and existing products into the heart of the UK social housing sector. By integrating our technological expertise in the home safety sector into Mears' solution, we believe that FireAngel can significantly enhance the quality of service and support through a range of connected safety monitoring devices for housing tenants across the UK.

"We see the System as the enabling technology that will allow FireAngel to capitalise on the wealth of opportunities in the UK trade sector and generate increased sales of our higher value trade alarms and devices."

David Miles, Chief Executive of Mears, commented:

"We are very pleased to have signed this partnership agreement with FireAngel. There are real safety, commercial and financial benefits to optimising our interaction with tenants and reducing the number of unanswered visits from our maintenance teams. We are witnessing a transition to integrated technologies and the FireAngel system will enable us to centralise those technologies into one central hub. We look forward to introducing the FireAngel solution to our clients across the footprint."

1 Z-Wave is a wireless communications protocol used primarily for home automation.

About FireAngel Safety Technology Group plc ("FireAngel")

FireAngel's mission is to protect, save and improve our customers' lives by making innovative, leading edge technology simple and accessible. FireAngel is one of the market leaders in the European home safety products market and launched its own connected homes product proposition at the end of 2016. 

FireAngel's principal products are smoke and heat alarms, CO detectors and safety accessories. The Company has an extensive portfolio of patented intellectual property in Europe, the US and other selected territories. Products are sold under FireAngel's leading brands of FireAngel, FireAngel Spec, FireAngel Pro, AngelEye and FireAngel Connect.

For further product information, please visit: www.fireangeltech.com

About FireAngel Connect

FireAngel Connect uses state of the art technology to connect IoT enabled hardware to a central, cloud based system, allowing for monitoring of appliances and smart devices within domestic properties.

Utilising FireAngel's proprietary radio protocol, FireAngel Connect can manage up to 50 Wi-Safe2 devices ensuring smoke, heat and carbon monoxide safety is prevalent within its ecosystem. With Z-wave capabilities, FireAngel Connect can extend to thousands of Z-wave devices, including energy monitors, floor sensors, lighting and boiler controls allowing maintenance to be scheduled at appropriate times.

About Mears (LSE: MER)

Mears employs over 10,000 people and provides services in every region of the UK. In partnership with its Housing clients, Mears maintains, repairs and upgrades the homes of hundreds of thousands of people in communities from remote rural villages to large inner city estates. Mears has extended its activities to provide broader housing solutions to solve the challenge posed by the lack of affordable housing. Mears' Care teams provide support to over 15,000 people a year, enabling the elderly and those living with disabilities to continue living in their own homes.

Mears focuses on long-term outcomes for people rather than short-term solutions, and invests in innovations that make a positive impact on people's quality of life and on their communities' social, economic and environmental wellbeing.