Energy technology company Fotech Group has received a £6.5 million investment from a pool of backers led by Scottish Equity Partners and which included US firm Energy Ventures and Saudi Arabian investor Shoaibi Group.

Spain-based Fotech has developed optical fibre-based acoustic monitoring systems, which are used in a number of industries. These include the oil and gas sectors, which require high-performance systems to detect problems such as pipeline leaks.

Apart from further developing the company, the new capital will be used to field test its monitoring systems and for the commercial launch of products initially targeted at the oil and gas markets. Fotech will also use the cash to fund the acquisition of a spinout from the University of Surrey which has developed fibre-optic sensing technology.