Maritime investor charts a course to financial success

Two journeys across the Atlantic demonstrating a new wind propulsion system for commercial ships have been completed by GT Wings, a small business which launched its AirWing product this spring to an audience of maritime stakeholders in London, hosted by Kantar Advisory Partners.

The system features a 20m tall, rigid sail made from lightweight composite material that produces thrust as air passes across a series of fans; providing an alternative source of power to the vessel. Up to three ‘wings’ can be installed on the deck of a ship, and the AirWing system promises to reduce fuel consumption and emissions of ships by up to a third.

The firm secured funding from several sources including Anthony Chant, the investment director of One Planet Capital – which provides an early-stage venture capital fund – who agreed to a £600,000 investment last year.

“Our focus is very much around climate change technology, and we are looking for any product or service that can accelerate the transition to net zero – and do so in a commercial way,” Anthony says.

“There's a multitude of things that made GT Wings attractive to invest in, but the one game changer was the commercial benefit of the system. We are not going to get to net zero through philanthropic means and people just thinking it's the right thing to do. It's got to be because there's a commercial incentive and solution.

One Planet Capital, investment director, Anthony Chant

“What its team has done is develop something which allows ship owners to save money. Why wouldn't they want that?”

Anthony was excited by the technology and impressed by GT Wings’ founder George Thompson’s background in naval architecture. But he was also pleased to see the system has “very unique differentiators to the competition” and that the company did its best to “de-risk the investment proposition” by seeking an independent validation of the technology.

“It wasn't just one person telling you: ‘this works’. They had a launch customer, which was really attractive, as someone was willing to take a risk.” Separate funding secured from Innovate UK and the “dedication of the team” developing the proposition also made the investment more bankable, Anthony adds.

Investment incentives explained

One Planet Capital’s investment came in two tranches in 2024 and was made through something called an EIS Fund, which stands for Enterprise Investment Scheme – a Government initiative that encourage individuals to invest in early-stage businesses through tax breaks.

The maritime technology firm has also raised funds from a series of other investors – something which Anthony applauds. “The team has been very successful at raising further funds from a wide group of investors, which is important.”

GT Wings’ founder George Thompson used his own equity to fund the business at the start, and was successful at securing early-stage grants for feasibility studies, explains the company’s chief financial officer Will O’Malley. “As the capital needs of the business increased to fund a detailed design, manufacturing and demonstration we raised equity from venture capitalists, a group of angel investors and crowdfunding; as well as continuing to apply for grants from Innovate UK.”

GT Wings has also secured £2 Million from investor Blackfinch Group, and grant funding from both the University of Bath and Bristol University to help develop the product.

“It's beneficial to have academic partners on board,” says Will, “not just from a grant perspective, but because smart people have helped drive forward our understanding of composite structures and using machine learning to optimise the product’s control system. Having specific skills in complex areas can be invaluable.”

Anthony encourages more small firms with investable propositions to form syndicates involving a range of financial stakeholders. “GT Wings did a great job of building a broad spectrum of funds, and to secure a ‘cornerstone fund’ offering more money – as with Blackfinch – to help get them to the next stage.”

Will recognises that evaluating the prospects of an early-stage business can be difficult; with investors keen to explore the technology on offer, what the future could bring, how large the opportunity could be, the strength of the team behind it, and their capability of growing the business.

“We weren't greedy with our valuation, and I hope our investors thought we were reasonable and set it at a level where everyone was happy they could make an attractive return.”

Catapult providing a foundation

Anthony says that Connected Places Catapult can help give “small businesses profile and a network where they can meet investors and people who can further your business. This all helps with reducing risk around investment.

“Through the Catapult, we have got to know several businesses at a very early stage before funding rounds take place,” he adds. “If you're a start-up, putting yourself in that position – and getting involved in incubator accelerators and grant funding programmes offered by the Catapult – is really important.”

Will says the Catapult’s support has helped the company to “build a broad network of stakeholders and potential investors. Events it hosts provide opportunities to showcase the business and our technology, which has been invaluable.”

Anthony advises other small firms looking to raise capital to thoroughly research the process including legal aspects, negotiating how much equity to give away and agreeing on a deal.

“You can do a huge amount through desktop research, but organisations like Innovate UK with its investor readiness programmes are useful.

“Be well prepared,” he adds. “Educate yourself about funding, and ask as many founders as possible about their experiences. The more you can benchmark, and understand what other companies have done, the better. Gather data early and do plenty of dry runs of your pitch presentations. But there's no sugar coating it: the process is tough and can be stressful.”

Looking ahead to later this year, Will says GT Wings will be seeking to validate its trials with maritime compliance service Lloyd’s Register in order to drive commercial sales. “Our order book is open and we're focused on filling that with orders from commercial clients. Alongside that, we're continually developing the technology and looking at further iterations of the product.”

Anthony says he hopes the technology becomes adopted widely, and looks forward to seeing wind propulsion units installed on ships at several UK ports.

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Learn more about GT Wings and its AirWing product.

Read about another investor in this series; Bethnal Green Ventures and its funding of Streetwise Technology.