News

FrontM, a UK based AI software platform startup announces the completion of £750K equity funding raise led by Green Shores Capital alongside Jenson Solutions, The FSE Group and angel investors.

The financing will be used to accelerate their go-to-market and to expand the teams in their London, Berkshire and Bangalore offices. This coincides with FrontM securing additional funding from Innovate UK to lead their £0.5 million research project in a consortium with Nick Lambert Associates and Inmarsat PLC. Deepak Ahuja, partner at Green Shores Capital joins the board as the investment director, alongside Kiran Venkatesh the co-founder CEO and Guillermo Acilu the co-founder CTO.

FrontM enables efficient communication, automation and customer experiences for airlines, cruises, shipping, fishing, remote enterprises and other frontier markets. While businesses around the world now thrive on Cloud-based software services, lack of continuous access to the Cloud is a significant constraint. FrontM's patent-pending Edge Intelligence technology enables creation of business and customer applications that work offline and need 70% less satellite data when connected.

"Most people believe ubiquitous unlimited internet is a reality as we head towards 5G. But the truth is the opposite for remote spaces and the disparity in digital experiences is ever increasing. We are addressing this. From making flying un-boring, through to enabling higher crew productivity, the range of use cases our platform enables is proving to be compelling for our B2B clients. As we hit global markets, the smart money and the active participation from our investors is invaluable", said Kiran Venkatesh who has previously helped satellite companies develop new digital products for the same markets.

FrontM offers customer branded apps or APIs to enhance existing customer channels. For 4 billion people who fly every year, the apps leap-frog from static content based inflight entertainment to continuous and personalised inflight engagement, e-commerce and content marketing. Similarly, for companies serving the 28 million cruise passengers and 15 million crew & fishermen, FrontM's programmable SDK turbo-charges offline interactions and value exchange.

Deepak Ahuja, partner at Green Shores capital, the lead investor and now the investment director, said "Deep Tech start-ups such as FrontM embody the creativity and innovation much needed in the Legacy Industries such as Maritime and Airlines. The founders of FrontM have a visionary and long-term view that most people may not take. Green Shores are delighted to have led FrontM's funding round with a future view of topping in the next series of fund raises and in assisting the team drive a step change in the markets"

Sarah Barber, Jenson Funding Partners CEO commented, “We are really excited to be working with Kiran and the team, this is a fantastic opportunity and we look forward to helping the business grow”.

Simon Labahn, Fund Manager at The FSE Group, who manage the Thames Valley Berkshire Growth Fund, said, “We were immediately impressed by FrontM’s current client base, the strength of their partnership with Innovate UK and the level of experience of their management team. They have created a multi-use platform that benefits some of the fastest growing sectors in the world. We look forward to working with Kiran and his team and seeing the company expand into new markets, whilst developing their suite of products.

For more information, visit www.frontm.com or email info@frontm.com

Cornish start-up, Henderson Fletcher Yachts, has received a £39,500 loan from the Cornwall & Isles of Scilly Investment Fund (CIOSIF) to support its boat building business. The Gweek-based firm will manufacture high end, sail powered yachts and motor cruisers to be sold to clients worldwide via an international brokering network. A 44ft hull, deck and basic superstructure has already been purchased for the first project, ‘Yacht Sofia’, with primary engineering taking place over the coming months. The funding received will primarily be used to create new jobs, enabling the business to begin its growth journey.

Henderson Fletcher Yachts’ owner, Samuel Foster, a qualified shipwright with over twenty years’ boat construction experience working for major yards in Bristol and Cornwall, said: “Once the initial build is complete the sales process can start, allowing the full fit-out to then be more bespoke. This means however, that the business will have a pre-income period of heavy investment. Getting funding for this type of project is obviously not easy and we are excited to have secured a CIOSIF loan to help us through this stage.”

The deal was handled by SWIG Finance who are working with fund managers The FSE Group to deliver the small business loans part of the fund.

SWIG’s Business Manager Mike Wall commented: “Sam is committed to growing a viable business based on premium build quality at fair pricing, given his relatively low overheads. With future expansion funded from retained capital, this is an opportunity to provide ongoing economic value in the area, along with quality training for sustainable, high-quality employment.”

John Acornley, non-executive director of the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), who chairs the CIOSIF Advisory Board, added: “The fund exists to help small businesses in Cornwall and Scilly overcome barriers to accessing the finance they need to grow and create jobs. This is a great example of how this alternative finance can help a new business get off the ground and I would urge any business with growth ambitions to look into how the fund might help.”

The £40m Cornwall & Isles of Scilly Investment Fund provides debt and equity finance from £25,000 to £2 million to help growing small businesses across the region. It has been established by the British Business Bank in partnership with the LEP and is operated by appointed fund managers FSE Group. CIOSIF is supported financially by the European Union using funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020. Further investment has come from the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local LEP and HM Government. For more information about the Cornwall & Isles of Scilly Investment Fund including how to apply, please visit www.ciosif.co.uk  or follow the fund on Twitter at @CIOSIFBBB2.

A rapidly growing Truro cleaning business is the latest company to receive funding from the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Investment Fund (CIOSIF). Spotless Cleaning Cornwall will receive a £55,000 loan made up of £48,125 from CIOSIF and £6,875 from SWIG Finance, who work with The FSE Group, the appointed CIOSIF Fund Manager, on delivering smaller business loans.

The investment will help owner, Ilona Ziarko, take on new staff and expand her services to other holiday lets businesses across the area. Spotless Cleaning Cornwall operates mostly in the holiday let sector and has grown significantly since being established a little over three years ago, with turnover increasing from around £50,000 in 2017 to an expected £100,000+ this year.

By offering B2B customers high-end housekeeping with added-value services, Ilona has grown the business to full capacity and is now taking steps to ensure future demand can be met. She said: “We reached the point where we could not take on any more business so the decision was made to find a way to grow the company rather than keep turning away work. The CIOSIF loan means we can move to new premises and purchase the necessary commercial equipment to do our laundry in-house, which will allow us to take on more staff and manage more cleaning contracts. We are really excited about the opportunities that lay ahead and look forward to expanding our offering to new and existing customers.”

The Spotless deal was handled on behalf of The FSE Group by SWIG Finance Business Manager, Aaron Hamshire, who said: “Ilona has carved a niche for Spotless with her determination to provide a service that exceeds the expectations of her clients. With the holiday let sector continuing to expand, the company has a growing pipeline of potential custom that we are delighted to help develop.”

LEP non-executive director John Acornley, who chairs the CIOSIF Advisory Board, added: “I’m delighted to see the investment fund unlock the growth potential of another Cornish business. Without this loan Spotless was being held back – now they have the support to grow with confidence.” The £40m Cornwall & Isles of Scilly Investment Fund provides debt and equity finance from £25,000 to £2 million to help growing small businesses across the region. It aims to make a further 195 investments over the next five years.

The fund has been established by the British Business Bank in partnership with the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), and is operated by appointed fund manager, The FSE Group. CIOSIF is supported financially by the European Union using funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020. Further investment has come from the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly LEP and HM Government. For more information about the Cornwall & Isles of Scilly Investment Fund including how to apply, please visit www.ciosif.co.uk  or follow the fund on Twitter at @CIOSIFBBB2.

Colateral a Redruth based software company, has raised a £1.45 million Series A round of investment, including £600,000 equity investment from the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Investment Fund (CIOSIF). The deal will create 34 jobs over the next three years. The package includes funding from existing corporate investor, SMP Group PLC, and £250,000 via The FSE Group Investor Network.

The FSE Group is the appointed CIOSIF fund manager. Colateral has created a market-leading Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform, enabling retailers and brands to manage their In Store marketing campaigns, cutting waste and driving increased sales. The new platform, hailed as ‘something the industry has been trying to build for 20 years’, already has an impressive client list boasting some of the UK’s leading retailers including Tesco, Waitrose, Mothercare, Paddy Power and WH Smith.

Robert Salvoni, Colateral Chairman, said: “Managing in-store marketing is a massive headache for central marketing teams and somewhere between 20% and 50% of assets and resources are simply wasted. Colateral enables reduction in cost and time, whilst massively improves targeting and therefore sales and return on marketing spend. “Our software offers an end-to-end solution, supporting and streamlining every stage, from building the initial campaign, managing the operation, through to post-event analysis. We are delighted to have received this funding from CIOSIF and our private investors, which will enable us to grow the team to support expansion in the UK and overseas, and to further develop the product.”

Ralph Singleton, Senior Fund Manager at The FSE Group, said: “Having produced a unique solution that fills a market gap so well, Colateral has positioned itself to take advantage of a global opportunity worth an estimated £120bn per annum. We are thrilled to be supporting this innovative company at such an exciting time in its development.”

Ken Cooper, MD at British Business Bank, said: “CIOSIF was launched to support innovative, fast growing companies across Cornwall. It is good to see that investment in Swoop will support the creation of new jobs in Cornwall over the next three years.

Cornwall & Isles of Scilly LEP non-executive director, John Acornley, added: “Colateral is an example of Cornish tech business operating in a global market. This investment will extend their use of algorithms and machine learning and see the integration of artificial intelligence into their product. The use of AI and data is a cornerstone of the Government’s Industrial Strategy and it’s vital that we invest in the industries of the future.”

CIOSIF is a £40m fund providing debt and equity finance from £25,000 to £2 million to help growing small businesses across the region. It has been established by the British Business Bank in partnership with the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP). CIOSIF is supported financially by the European Union using funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020. Further investment has come from the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly LEP and HM Government. For more information about the Cornwall & Isles of Scilly Investment Fund including how to apply, please visit www.ciosif.co.uk or follow the fund on Twitter at @CIOSIFBBB2

A Technology platform that specialises in linking wholesale food suppliers with restaurants has successfully completed a funding round. The investment comes from the Thames Valley Berkshire Growth Fund, managed by The FSE Group and includes further investment from high profile private angel investors.

GoKart based in Reading, Berkshire, have developed an app that allows restaurants to order high quality ingredients from vetted suppliers in a quick and easy way. The company offers restaurants a saving of up to 20% on their ingredients by combining their buying power within the app. This gives independent restaurants and small and medium sized chains the same prices and discounts that are offered to larger chains.

Anx Patel, CEO & Founder, GoKart comments, “In my previous role in the food industry I became increasingly frustrated at the advantage enjoyed by chain restaurants. They can order produce in huge quantities, thereby accessing discounts and quick delivery that the independents have no hope of enjoying. With the cost of produce constantly rising and the effects of Brexit heavily affecting the food and beverage sector, we understand the pressures that food businesses face on a day to day basis. It is our aim for GoKart to be the go-to point in helping restaurants prosper by saving them time and money when ordering ingredients at the best prices.”

Simon Labahn, Fund Manager at The FSE Group, who manage the Thames Valley Berkshire Growth Fund on behalf of the Thames Valley Berkshire Local Enterprise Partnership, says, “GoKart received phenomenal support early on in 2016 from Just Eat’s Food Tech Accelerator Programme. The programme allowed Anx and his team to benefit from advice, insights and funding from industry experts. Since then, the company has continued to grow and work tirelessly to perfect their platform. We were immediately impressed by the company’s highly experienced management team and their ability to analyse a high volume of data. Access to such valuable data and a team with the skills to analyse it means GoKart is able to learn, adapt and lead the way in identifying the latest trends. We are excited for the future of GoKart and wish Anx and his team every success.”

TVB Growth Fund is part of Thames Valley Berkshire Funding Escalator, an £11.3m initiative funded by Thames Valley Berkshire LEP to support job creation and economic prosperity in Berkshire. The escalator, which also includes four separate loan schemes, provides eligible companies – from start-up to established – with loans and equity funding between £50,000 and £300,000 for activities that will deliver high-growth and employment opportunities.