About us

What began as a question about overlooked resources became a patented approach to one of the UK’s most persistent environmental challenges — phosphate pollution.

Rookwoods Aim for a More Sustainable Future

Our Mission:

To deliver practical, sustainable nutrient‑recovery solutions that protect water, support a circular economy, and strengthen environmental and agricultural resilience.

Our Vision:

A sustainable nutrient management system or the world— Through effective technology, responsible innovation and strong partnerships across the water, land and development.

The Rookwood Team

Jane Pearce

Chief Executive Officer

FTSE100 Financial Services & Ops background – SME leadership in agri-tech – Objective decision maker – Impact-driven, profit-focused -Relentless determination

Josh Hares

Chief Technical Officer

Scaled family farm; doubled turnover – Built 32,000 free-range egg enterprise – Practical & technical agri-skills – Innovation-led problem solver – New venture setup & growth

Ross Paterson

Chief Operations Officer

Experienced operational leader – champions a culture of continuous improvement, risk management, a commercial mindset and data-driven decision-making.

Liam Pearce

Chief Commercial Officer

15 yrs sales, 5 yrs account management – Relationship builder beyond the deal – Calm, creative, commercially sharp negotiator – Consultative customer experience focus

Gail Shepherd

Office Manager

Oversees the organisation’s administrative, facilities, procurement, and office‑services functions. The role ensures smooth day‑to‑day operations, strong supplier management, accurate financial administration, and a safe, well‑run workplace that supports staff productivity and governance standards.

Starting Soon

Production Site Manager

To lead all operational, safety, and compliance activities across the factory and warehouse. Responsible for people leadership, HSE, chemical and lifting‑equipment safety, logistics, and asset performance, this role ensures the site runs safely, efficiently, and in full alignment with regulatory and organisational requirements.

We Are Hiring a

Field Operations technician

To provide hands‑on technical, field, and operational support across Rookwood’s facilities and remote sites. The role ensures equipment checks, sampling, monitoring, and basic maintenance are completed safely and accurately, supporting continuous operational readiness and reliable data for decision‑making.

We Are interested in ....

Production & Manuacturing Site Operatives

To support the day‑to‑day running of Rookwood production sites, ensuring materials are processed safely, efficiently and to a consistent quality. Assists with operations, equipment handling and routine maintenance while following health, safety and environmental standards.

Wastewater treatment Chemistry & Process Engineers

To design, optimise and support Rookwood’s water treatment and nutrient recovery systems. Ensure efficient, reliable operation across sites while maintaining performance, compliance and environmental standards.

Chemistry and Material Scientists

To develop and refine Rookwood’s recovery materials, focusing on performance, stability and scalability. Leads research and testing to optimise material behaviour in real‑world water and environmental applications.

Water Stewardship, Nature‑Based Solutions & Environmental Delivery Specialists

To support the development and delivery of sustainable water and environmental projects. Contributes expertise across environmental delivery, stewardship and sustainability initiatives while supporting collaborative, practical and impact‑driven outcomes.

Are you interested in any of these roles?

We’re always looking for good people (at any stage of their career) who want to do meaningful work and help solve real environmental challenges. If you’re interested in what we’re building and think you could contribute, get in touch — we’d like to hear from you.

The Foundation of Everything We Do

Empower Individuals. Champion the Team.

Every role matters. We value expertise, encourage open communication, and treat questions, ideas and collaboration as core to our success. Each person brings something essential — collectively, we are stronger.

High Quality. Positive Impact.

We aim for quality in everything we do — from our technology to our decisions. Excellence for us means impact: ethical choices, environmental responsibility and work we can be proud of.

Straight Talk. Clear Vision.

We communicate plainly, both internally and with partners. No jargon. No unnecessary complexity. Clear, honest conversations help us build trust and work efficiently.

The Story of Rookwood so far

Founded in Somerset

Rookwood was founded in 2022 by three Somerset-based founders — Jane Pearce, Josh Hares, and Liam Pearce.

With backgrounds in agriculture, land management, and environmental innovation, we share a practical belief that many environmental challenges can be solved by making better use of existing resources.

Our journey started with a simple question:

How can valuable resources currently being wasted be recovered and put to better use?

As we explored agriculture and food production, we identified a much larger challenge facing the UK: excess phosphorus in water.

Phosphorus is essential for growing food, yet when it enters rivers, lakes, and reservoirs in excessive amounts it can contribute to nutrient pollution, algal blooms, and ecological decline. At the same time, the UK remains heavily reliant on imported phosphate fertilisers despite significant quantities of phosphorus already moving through domestic wastewater systems every day.

This challenge became the foundation for Rookwood.

Today, we develop technologies that capture nutrients from water, prevent it from becoming pollution, and return it to productive use in agriculture.

From Challenge to Innovation

Rookwood did not begin with a plan to solve nutrient pollution.

Instead, our early work in biomass utilisation and nutrient recovery highlighted the scale of the phosphorus challenge across the UK. Discussions with water companies, farmers, environmental organisations, and infrastructure partners reinforced the need for practical, scalable solutions that could improve water quality while recovering valuable resources.

This led to the development of three connected innovations:

PRM®

PRM® is our patented phosphorus recovery material.

It captures phosphorus directly from water systems, preventing nutrients from entering the environment while creating opportunities for recovery and reuse.

nuRe®

nuRe® is Rookwood’s resource recovery approach.

It focuses on transforming wastewater and environmental treatment systems from disposal-focused infrastructure into circular recovery systems that capture value from nutrients and other materials.

Lifted P®

Lifted P® is our recovered phosphorus product.

Created through our nutrient recovery processes, Lifted P® is designed to return recovered phosphorus to agriculture, helping support a more circular nutrient economy.

Together, these technologies create a connected system that captures phosphorus from water, prevents pollution, and returns valuable nutrients to productive use.

Growing and Delivering Impact

Our technologies have progressed from laboratory development to successful field trials, pilot projects, and commercial-scale infrastructure applications.

Along the way, Rookwood has received recognition for its innovation and environmental impact, including:

Innovate UK Women in Innovation Award
Earthshot Prize nomination
Innovate UK Smart Grant support
Early-stage private investment

With a growing team, strengthened board, and expanding network of partners, we are working with water companies, farmers, developers, and environmental organisations to deliver practical solutions for nutrient management and water quality improvement.