BWA is a world leader in the development and the marketing of speciality branded chemicals for the water treatment market. Headquartered in Manchester, UK and Atlanta, USA, the business operates in over 80 countries worldwide. BWA's products are principally used to control the build up of scale and corrosion and to treat microbiological growth in water. Its products are sold into the industrial water treatment, desalination and oilfield chemicals markets.

Under CBPE's ownership, through significant investment in R&D and the sales team, BWA was able to drive growth through product and market expansion. Growth was also helped by acquisition of a small UK business. This investment enabled sales to grow from $90m to $120m and staff numbers to double; it also provided a pipeline of new products to help underpin future growth.

CBPE realised its investment when the business was acquired by UIB Bank of Bahrain in September 2008.