Water treatment and purification firm Environmental Water Systems has been bought by renewable and environmental investment company The Amplio Group.

EWS is based in Cheddar and has 38 employees and a turnover of more than £5m. The company designs, builds and supplies water treatment, purification and waste water recovery systems in the healthcare and industrial sectors.

The acquisition is the second water company purchase by Amplio in the past four months. In June it bought Puresep Holdings, and EWS will now be combined with Puresep under Amplio Filtration, giving the company a 25% share of the UK market. The healthcare expertise of EWS was particularly attractive to Amplio, as it gives it a foothold in the lucrative water management business for hospitals.