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