BuyingStation, a leading procurement solutions company, has secured a £500,000 investment from the Thames Valley Berkshire Funding Escalator, via fund manager The FSE Group. 

Having identified a gap in procurement technology in 2016, BuyingStation developed a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) to address this. Quickly becoming a much needed tool for over 1500 users to enhance clarity, control and confidence within a business’s portfolio of supplier spend.  

Following this success, a decision was made to build a proprietary cloud based procuretech solution - BuyingStation - a unified platform for contract and supplier management, eTendering, project pipelines and spend tracking, promoting best procurement practices and helping high growth businesses work with suppliers to achieve their sustainability goals. BuyingStation will use the funding to accelerate platform advancement and drive subscription sales. 

Kavita Cooper, BuyingStation founder and CEO, said: “We are excited to secure this funding, which is supporting our mission to promote purposeful procurement; helping more businesses have a positive impact on people, the planet and increasing profits. In FSE we have found a funder able to invest in our growth potential, we look forward to working with Cheryl and the team.”  

Cheryl Weeks, Head of Funds, South East at The FSE Group added: “With its targeted approach and dedication to tech innovation, BuyingStation is poised to drive sustained success in the world of procuretech. A future equity raise will accelerate the technology roadmap and position the Company as the leading tech-led procurement solution for high growth mid-size businesses in the UK and beyond. We are delighted to provide the finance they need to be in the strongest position to accelerate growth.” 

Mike Reeves, Partner at EY in the South East, who introduced BuyingStation to The FSE Group, commented: “While working with BuyingStation on their upcoming equity raise, we advised that introducing debt funding to accelerate platform development could position them to secure equity investment at a higher valuation later in their journey. We were pleased to have made the introduction to FSE who are a strong funder for deals where traditional high-street lending criteria may not be a match.” 

TVB Funding Escalator is an £11.3m initiative funded by The Skills and Business Hub. The escalator, which includes an Expansion Loan Scheme and a Trade Finance Loan Scheme, provides eligible companies with loans between £50,000 and £500,000 for activities that will deliver high-growth and employment opportunities.