Metir (AIM:MET), the AIM-listed provider of fast-response water and environmental monitoring technology, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with MechLine-UK to introduce its Microtox water toxicity testing platform to major UK water companies including Thames Water, Affinity Water, Sutton & East Surrey Water and Portsmouth Water.
The group exports around 95% of its products, leaving the UK market largely untapped, and MechLine's existing engineering and installation relationships across the water sector give Metir a route to demonstrate the Microtox platform to utility customers directly.
Metir has issued 144 customer quotations during 2026, including 83 for its Microtox LX and FX instruments, with 19 systems sold year-to-date as production of the LX platform continues to ramp up.
Separately, the company confirmed progress toward restarting commercial production of its QuickChek SRB detection kits, halted earlier this year after demand outstripped the manufacturing capacity of a key antibody component.
A newly sequenced antibody is expected to support a more scalable process, with run-in production and deliveries resuming in October and full commercial output planned for the fourth quarter.
Customer enquiries already cover more than 20,500 kits, representing potential revenue of approximately £1.23 million based on 2025 pricing of £60 per kit.
The company also reported successful field validation of its PFAS detection platform with remediation specialist ProDecon, with the resulting data now feeding into an AI and machine-learning collaboration with FIDCHEM aimed at simplifying data interpretation.
Bob Moore, Metir's executive chairman and chief executive, said the MechLine agreement "provides an exciting opportunity to introduce the capabilities of the Microtox platform via a major operational supplier to a number of large UK water companies."
The company's Pathogen Detector programme with Aptamer Group remains on track, with proof-of-concept data expected in the second half of the year and commercial roll-out targeted for the first half of 2027.
News Intelligence what this means for the company
Metir has secured a UK distribution partnership with MechLine-UK to reach major water utilities (Thames Water, Affinity Water, Sutton & East Surrey Water, Portsmouth Water) with its Microtox toxicity platform, addressing the company's heavy export dependence (95% of sales). Separately, QuickChek SRB kit production resumes in October after a supply bottleneck, with customer enquiries covering 20,500+ kits worth approximately £1.23 million in potential revenue at 2025 pricing.
- MechLine-UK's existing engineering and installation relationships across the UK water sector provide direct access to utility decision-makers, reducing Metir's sales friction in a domestic market it has largely left untapped.
- QuickChek SRB restart in October unblocks a revenue stream halted by antibody supply constraints; the newly sequenced antibody is designed to support more scalable manufacturing, addressing the prior capacity ceiling.
The MechLine partnership and QuickChek restart both target near-term revenue catalysts: the UK water route-to-market diversifies away from export dependency, while SRB kit production resumption converts a backlog of 20,500+ customer enquiries into Q4 commercial output. Metir's AI/ML collaboration with FIDCHEM on PFAS data interpretation and the Pathogen Detector programme with Aptamer Group (proof-of-concept H2 2026, commercial rollout H1 2027) extend the pipeline, but near-term execution on these two restarts will be the key test of momentum.
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