News

The FSE Group is pleased to announce the appointment of two experienced Investment Managers: Ann Marie McFadyen and Chris Bailey. They join the Group’s Midland’s team which manages the Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF) Debt Finance Fund and will be responsible for supporting eligible SMEs within the area.

Ann Marie brings over 30 years of experience within the financial services industry, having previously worked at RBS and Bibby Financial Services. Ann Marie will be focusing on the East Midlands area, working to help support businesses based in the South-East Midlands LEP and Leicester & Leicestershire LEP.

Chris joins The FSE Group after 30 years at Lloyds Banking Group, where he had various roles, including in Commercial Business Development and as a Client Relationship Director managing varied, high value portfolios across different sectors. He has an in-depth knowledge of specialist funding and will have responsibilities throughout the Midlands region, helping to build new intermediary contacts and ultimately to fund and support SME’s who are working to scale-up their businesses.

Andy Moss, Head of Fund at The FSE Group, which manages the MEIF Debt Finance Fund commented: “We welcome Ann Marie and Chris to The Midlands Team. They are very experienced finance professionals, bringing strong capability that will help the team support eligible SMEs within the region, enabling us to deliver our stakeholder commitments, whilst strengthening the local economy.”

MEIF Debt Finance Fund can be used for expansion related activities which will deliver substantial growth impact within the area. Through this fund, eligible SMEs can secure growth loans ranging from £100,000 – £1,500,000 which could be used for sales and marketing activity, hiring of new employees/job creation/new product development/exporting abroad/purchasing new equipment/entering new markets.

Ann Marie McFadyen, Investment Manager at The FSE Group, adds: “I am looking forward to supporting local SME’s by helping them to realise their potential. Being able to offer the right financial solutions for their individual requirements is so important and will enable them to grow their business. I’m excited to build long term relationships with local SMEs and watch them go from strength to strength.

Chris Bailey, Investment Manager at The FSE Group, added: “I am keen to provide advice and guidance to help entrepreneurs within the Midland’s area to ascertain the next step of their business journey. I am looking forward to working with a diverse portfolio of companies and being instrumental in helping them reach their goals.”

Mark Wilcockson, Senior Manager at the British Business Bank added: “It’s good to see the MEIF Debt Finance team at The FSE Group being strengthened with the recruitment of Ann Marie and Chris. The Fund is dedicated to supporting smaller businesses across the region in reaching their growth potential, working through our Investment Managers and having experienced teams on the ground, is of course, very important in being able to successfully deploy our funds.”

The Midlands Engine Investment Fund project 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 and the European Investment Bank.

A Whetstone-based pharmaceutical business has secured a £250,000 loan to support the development of its latest software platform and enable it to create seven new jobs.

Remedi Pharmacy Solutions secured the finance from the Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF), provided by The FSE Group Debt Finance Fund and backed by the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS). The new roles will allow Remedi to strengthen its sales and distributions teams, reach out to more customers and cover a wider geographical area, helping the business to achieve its expansion plans.

Remedi is a pharmaceutical distribution business that provides direct to door prescription fulfilment. The funding will be used alongside external finance to further develop and roll-out the company’s proprietary software which will see it move to a fully automated, electronic dispensing process.

Remedi also delivers its services to care homes, using an efficient “closed loop” software system to provide both medicine management and care planning.

Kenny Black, Managing Director of Remedi Pharmacy Solutions, commented: “The electronic processing of prescriptions, combined with direct delivery, has had a positive impact on care homes in these challenging Covid-19 times. As the business expands, this loan will allow us to create new positions to service the increase in demand and continue to deliver to more care homes. Thanks to The FSE Group for guiding us through the funding process, enabling us to secure the funds to support our growth ambitions.”

With over 11,000 care homes in the UK, 30% of all UK prescriptions are dispensed to care homes at an annual cost to the NHS of £700m+. This cost is set to increase in line with the rise in aging population. Remedi offers a simple, one size fits all platform with easy-to-use software which greatly improves the efficiency and dispensing of medications to care homes from a central hub, thus reducing the cost to the NHS.

Andy Moss, Head of Funds at The FSE Group, which manages the MEIF Debt Finance Fund, adds: “Remedi Pharmacy Solutions has a strong and experienced management team with over 25 years of pharmaceutical experience. The care home sector continues to grow and Remedi’s electronic service is efficient, smooth and accurate, minimising the human error that comes with manual prescription processing. The creation of these roles will help the business to fully implement its new software and provide a platform for rapid growth.”

Lewis Stringer, Senior Manager at the British Business Bank, said: “We’re delighted to see this latest investment from the MEIF supporting new technology within the health and social care sector. Some of the key objectives of the fund are to help businesses, such as Remedi, to secure finance to innovate, develop new products and expand. We’d encourage other businesses in the region to consider the options available through the MEIF.”

Kevin Harris, Chair of the LLEP Board of Directors, said: “Remedi Pharmacy Solutions’ direct delivery business model is innovative and highly relevant for the times we live in. I’m very pleased therefore that it has secured this funding to enable it to expand its team and invest in the future of the business. We all want our loved ones to receive the best service possible, and Remedi’s positive impact on the ever-expanding social care sector is great to see.”

The Midlands Engine Investment Fund project 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 and the European Investment Bank.

The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) was managed by the British Business Bank on behalf of, and with the financial backing of, the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). The scheme ended on 31 March and has been replaced by the Recovery Loan Scheme.

The FSE Group, MEIF Debt Finance Fund provides loans between £100,000 and £1.5million to help growing SMEs across the region.

OpenBlend, the SaaS platform transforming the way companies and their employees think about performance management has taken additional funding and appointed David Grundy as Chair to support rapidly growing demand for its products and services. OpenBlend performance management software helps companies and their employees stay engaged and productive as they respond to the new challenges and opportunities presented by the pandemic and the new world of work.

UK based OpenBlend has received funding from the FSE Group through the Thames Valley Berkshire Growth Fund which has been matched with investments from a number of high profile SaaS Angels. Alongside this round, David Grundy was appointed as Chair and will be working closely with OpenBlend founder and CEO Anna Rasmussen to support the business through the next stage of growth. Grundy previously co-founded Invenias, the leading SaaS platform for executive hiring which was acquired by Bullhorn in 2018. He is currently a Venture Partner with MMC Ventures, Board Observer at MMC portfolio company StorageOS and Chair at SaaS Marketing platform StoryStream.

David Grundy, Chair at OpenBlend “The past 18 months have highlighted the critical importance of good communication between managers and their teams. As we move into a post pandemic world with permanent adjustments to physical working models and expectations of a better work/life balance, OpenBlend can really help companies build stronger partnerships with their employees, driving better performance for the business while improving employee satisfaction and retention. OpenBlend is the right tool at the right time and I am delighted to have the opportunity to work with Anna, Kate and the team.”

Anna Rasmussen, CEO & Founder of OpenBlend “OpenBlend has always had a forward-thinking approach to performance management. Placing the employee at the centre of performance conversations is both logical and effective in driving high performance. Whilst the last 15 months has rocked many aspects of our working lives, the silver lining is how its accelerated the mindset in recognising ‘the human’ in high performing workforces. It’s how it should have always been and I’m thrilled with the outcome. Our time is now, the workplace needs OpenBlend and we very much look forward to scaling the business with the support of FSE.”

Bradley Jones, Equity Portfolio Manager at The FSE Group: “Having known OpenBlend through other FSE funding activities, we have been able to witness the great strides made by the business over the past two years. It was a real pleasure to work with Anna, Kate, David and the rest of the team to complete this funding round. In an ever-evolving work environment, OpenBlend is at the forefront of effecting change in its market. I look forward to working with the OpenBlend team as the business scales with its next stage of growth.”

Camden based Appsumer has secured funding from the Greater London Investment Fund (GLIF), to fund new business opportunities and create a dozen new jobs over the next 18 months.

Founded in 2015 by Shumel Lais and Moin Maniar, Appsumer is a SaaS analytics platform that supports developers of smartphone mobile apps to monitor their marketing spend and user acquisition success rate. Their client facing platform powered by AI captures same day marketing spend data and trends whilst delivering a decision-making tool as to where best to allocate daily marketing spend to maximise new customer downloads.

The mobile app market has grown rapidly in the last decade, and marketing spend in the sector has doubled year-on-year. As more apps are developed, marketing expenditure is the key driver to grow revenue. These developments have a greater data capture which is delivered faster to clients, along with AI decision making tools determining where marketing spend should be distributed. This reduces costs for clients and gives them an edge over the competition.

Shumel Lais, CEO and Co-Founder of Appsumer commented: “It’s great to be working alongside Marco and the GLIF team with a loan that has come at a crucial point in our journey. 2020 has delivered a step change in product offering for us with faster same day processing of data and greater client customisation, allowing us to better service our customers. This loan has put us on a strong footing for further growth as it will allow us to expand and take on major new contracts this year. Additionally, we will be able to create a dozen new jobs in London by 2022. “

Marco Cerrone, Investment Manager for The FSE Group, who manages the £55 million GLIF debt fund on behalf of Funding London, commented: “Appsumer have developed a strong product offering and have an opportunity to build a widespread customer base in a huge & fluid market. We were impressed with the management team and their commercial traction with consistent year-on-year sales growth. We are delighted to be able to provide this funding and look forward to the next stage in their journey.”

Maggie Rodriguez-Piza, CEO at Funding London, adds: “We are excited to announce our investment into Camden-based SaaS analytics platform Appsumer.  Seven years ago, Shumel Lais and Moin Maniar capitalised on the opportunity presented by the rapid growth in the mobile app market. GLIF’s investment will support the escalation of the customer experience alongside the team’s expansion. We wish Shumel and Moin great success with their growth plans over the coming months.”

GLIF is a £100m initiative to help address the SME finance gap in Greater London, promoting economic growth through enterprise and an inclusive and sustainable economy. £55m of debt funding is available, via loans between £100,000 and £1m, to early-stage and established SMEs looking to scale-up and realise their growth ambitions. GLIF is financed through the European Investment Bank (EIB), European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), London Waste & recycling Board (LWARB) and Funding London’s Legacies.

A Worcester-based e-commerce business has secured a funding package of up to £600,000 to help build its software and expand its operations whilst creating new employment opportunities.

DAPV Ltd, trading as Boulevard Online, secured the funding from The Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF), provided by The FSE Group, Debt Finance Fund.

The funding will allow Boulevard Online to develop its online software and e-commerce platform, whilst creating six new jobs. The company’s newly launched website is a hub for suppliers which are looking to grow their product sales online – enabling them to connect and partner with the e-commerce specialists. 

Dom Portman, Boulevard Online Founder, commented: “We now have customers in 85 countries worldwide, a growing team of friendly and conscientious staff and two distribution centres based in Worcester. Boulevard’s clear focus on efficient technology development has enabled us to progress from initially fulfilling orders from the largest selection of costumes and partyware in the world, to now being on course to achieve the same milestones across multiple product categories. We have embraced collaborative and positive relationships with new manufacturers, distributors and inventors and this, together with the MEIF funding package, will help us to grow further.”

Working closely with product manufacturers and distributors to grow product listings on marketplaces online, Boulevard has grown 100 per cent over the past two years and aims to become a leading marketplace seller and fulfilment company, connecting products with the end consumer on behalf of manufacturers, distributors and inventors. The business has also seen an increase in demand for its services from the UK and overseas.

Chirag Mistry, Fund Manager at The FSE Group which manages the MEIF Debt Finance Fund, adds: “We are proud to be supporting Dominic, a young, passionate entrepreneur, and top 100 recognised fastest growing tech start-up, Boulevard Online, with both its technology development and expansion plans. It is a high growth tech company pushing the boundaries to enhance the experience of the online customer journey whilst developing new technology to disrupt the market. Our support through The FSE Group and Midlands Engine Investment Fund will allow the business to continue investing in technology, people and processes as well as the creation of several jobs in the region.”

Ryan Cartwright, Senior Manager at the British Business Bank, said: “Following the investment from MEIF, Boulevard Online will be able to continue optimising its e-commerce services and unlock new growth. The MEIF is available to smaller businesses in the Midlands that are looking to secure finance for a range of reasons, including to innovate, develop products or expand.”

Gary Woodman, Chief Executive of the Worcestershire Local Enterprise Partnership, said: “I am pleased to see that Boulevard Online has been able to secure funding through MEIF to expand the business and create new employment opportunities. This will not only benefit the business but will also help the local economy to build back better from the effects of COVID. MEIF has supported numerous Worcestershire businesses and I would encourage any local businesses to contact the Worcestershire Growth Hub, Worcestershire Business Central, to find out more about how they too could benefit from this great support programme.”

The Midlands Engine Investment Fund project 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 and the European Investment Bank.

The FSE Group, MEIF Debt Finance Fund provides loans between £100,000 and £1.5million to help growing SMEs across the region.