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A company producing tools to monitor and manage gas pressure within gas distribution networks (GDNs) is the latest to receive funding from the Enterprise M3 (EM3) Growth Fund.

Utonomy has been working with two of the UKs four GDN operating companies to develop a fit for purpose “Smart Grid” solution as there is currently no effective system available on the market. The company has created its Active Grid Management solution, comprising relevant hardware (actuators and sensors), installed throughout the gas network, with a cloud-based software platform using self-learning algorithms to continually optimise the network remotely.

CEO Adam Kingdon, who established the company in 2015 after being approached with an opportunity to apply his experience in water pressure management to the gas distribution industry, outlines the problem: “The demand for gas is influenced by time of day/week/year, weather conditions etc.; at its highest, demand can be up to 100 x greater than at its lowest. This means GDNs are managing an ever present conflict between a) ensuring gas pressure does not go below the minimum requirement at any given time and b) too much pressure resulting in system leaks, which is not only costly, but also has environmental implications – an area monitored by Ofgem. GDNs have found existing systems for managing pressure to be inadequate, resorting to labour intensive manual adjustments. A costly process, these adjustments take place only a handful of times throughout the year resulting in gas pressures being set to the incorrect level 99% of the time.”

Utonomy’s offering is unique on several levels: its actuator is able to operate in dangerous substance environments; its intelligent software will interpret the statistical relationship between weather temperatures, calendar fluctuations etc. and changes in pressure to generate accurate predictions for high and low pressure points; its hardware can monitor the ongoing condition of the network resulting in faster detection of mains breaks along with easier maintenance planning.

The £150,000 EM3 Growth Fund investment is part of a larger funding round that will see the company establish its international sales and marketing base in Basingstoke. The funding will help the business to further commercialise its offering and gain traction throughout Europe and in North America.

Ralph Singleton, Fund Manager at The FSE Group, which manages the EM3 Growth Fund on behalf of the Enterprise M3 Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), comments: “Utonomy is responding to a clear market demand for a solution to real problems facing the gas distribution industry globally. The company’s strong technological background and extensive industry knowledge and contacts has allowed it to work directly with end clients to develop an innovative product that will fully meet their needs, offer a good ROI and help them deliver against environmental targets. We are pleased to be supporting them on this exciting journey to achieve their full potential.”

Geoff French, CBE, Chair of Enterprise M3 LEP adds: “Enterprise M3 LEP area is home to a vibrant Sci-Tech corridor and this is due to a conscious collaborative effort creating the conditions for innovation to thrive. We are pleased that Utonomy now has the financial resource to expand, increase productivity, create more jobs and be part of our ecosystem of technological excellence.”

The Enterprise M3 Growth Fund is part of the Enterprise M3 Funding Escalator, a £5.5million initiative funded by Enterprise M3 Local Enterprise Partnership. The escalator, which also includes an expansion loan scheme, provides eligible companies with loans and equity funding between £50,000 and £200,000 for activities that will deliver high-growth and employment opportunities.

Following its investment from the Bedford Business EIS Fund last year, corporate travel platform Tripism has now successfully secured funding from the Coast to Capital Growth Equity Fund, as part of a new funding round. Since its last round, which also included several angel investors,

Tripism has made significant progress with product development and expanded its relationship with Microsoft global travel. Tripism enables employees to use the travel experiences and know-how of colleagues to inform their own business travel decisions and to discover the benefits offered by corporate travel suppliers. Following the successful pilot and development phase with around 600 Microsoft users, the Tripism platform will now be rolled out to all Microsoft staff and will replace some of the company’s former travel tools.

Tripism founder and CEO, Adam Kerr, comments: “We are delighted with the progress of our work with Microsoft: Tripism offers user generated content for 97 cities across 33 countries, giving information about many aspects of corporate travel from flights, transfers and hotels through to restaurants, parks and running routes. This relationship has provided a great opportunity to develop and refine our offering and we are now looking forward to engaging further corporate clients.”

Tripism is in discussions with a number of large corporations who are looking for a clear understanding of the quality of service they are getting from their travel providers and a significantly better tool for their travellers. The latest £100,000 investment from Coast to Capital Growth Equity Fund is part of a further funding round that includes support from existing investors, and will see the company establish a base in Croydon to support the company’s marketing activity.

Avent Bezuidenhoudt, Senior Fund Manager at The FSE Group which manages both the Bedford Business EIS Fund and the Coast to Capital Growth Equity Fund, remarks: “the Tripism team is making great progress with this innovative travel app and is positioning the company well for a larger funding round later this year. We are delighted to continue working with them to realise their growth ambitions.”

The Coast to Capital Growth Equity Fund is part of the Coast to Capital Funding Escalator, a £5million initiative funded by Coast to Capital Local Enterprise Partnership. The escalator, which also includes an expansion loan scheme, provides eligible companies with loans and equity funding between £50,000 and £200,000 for activities that will deliver high-growth and employment opportunities.

Having secured a £100,000 Enterprise M3 (EM3) Expansion Loan last October, Chillistick have spent the last year refining their unique FogJug, which builds on their dry ice experience to bring a long life dry ice effect product to the hospitality sector. With R&D now complete and the product market ready, the company will use a further £100,000 EM3 Expansion Loan to roll out the FogJug during 2017. Chillistick has built a reputation as a market leader in the supply of dry ice and creator of innovative products to showcase its striking effects, from drink stirrers to Halloween accessories. The company has worked with leading spirit brands such as Smirnoff, as well as a notable TV chef, famous for his scientific approach to cuisine.  However, the inherently short life of the dry ice itself has, to an extent, acted as a barrier to growth. Chris Buchanan, who co-founded Chillistick with fellow chemical engineer Mike Ashe, explains: “As dry ice only lasts at most, a couple of days, it limits our market both within the UK and overseas. The UK hospitality industry is a key sector for us, but for some potential customers the brief shelf life leaves profit margins too uncertain. As for export, we are seeing increased sales of our dry ice hardware in foreign markets but are unable to supply the consumable element, which diminishes any recurring purchase.” The FogJug has been developed to address this issue, employing a unique cartridge system whereby refills can be stored for up to two years prior to use. On activation, which can be done by hospitality staff or the end consumer, the jug will emit Chillistick’s trademark fog effect. With the UK roll out set for the coming months, the company is also looking to exploit overseas opportunities and will be launching the product in the US later in the year. Derek Ellis, Fund Manager at The FSE Group which manages the EM3 Expansion Loan Scheme, says: “Chillistick has made good progress over the last year, overcoming hurdles in the FogJug R&D phase to end up with a product that is already being well-received by the industry. Roll out is the next challenge and we will continue to work with the company to help them reach their growth potential.” Chris and Mike have also been supported by the EM3 Growth Hub, working with Growth Champion Mike O'Dwyer, who has helped them review and refine their business processes and identify potential markets for their product. The Enterprise M3 Expansion Loan Scheme is part of the Enterprise M3 Funding Escalator, a £5.5million initiative funded by Enterprise M3 Local Enterprise Partnership. The escalator, which also includes an equity growth fund, provides eligible companies with loans and equity funding between £50,000 and £200,000 for activities that will deliver high-growth and employment opportunities. For more information about Chillistick visit www.chillistick.com or tel 0203 432 9412.

A company offering an innovative cyber security solution for small-scale networks is looking to expand with the help of an investment from the Enterprise M3 Growth Fund. The £150,000 investment is part of a larger funding round that will see RazorSecure establish itself within the transport sector, targeting in-travel infotainment systems within aeroplanes, cars and trains.

The software’s small footprint means it is suitable for small systems without it affecting the operation of the underlying device, making it perfect for in-flight entertainment that is unconnected to a large network. Furthermore, it is unique in the fact that it can detect a hack and close down the relevant system in under a minute, leaving a hacker no time to search for valuable data.

Alex Cowan, CEO and CTO at Razorsecure says: “with hacks becoming more sophisticated, and systems more interconnected, it may be possible for a hacker to access a plane’s controls via vulnerabilities in the entertainment system, or a ship’s navigation system via the GPS signal. With driverless cars on the horizon, this particular threat will also affect the automotive industry. Our protected IP is ground-breaking in the speed at which it can identify a threat and take action to stop it, increasing the overall security of transport networks.”

Following an introduction from SETsquared, and help from the EM3 Growth Hub the funding round was originated by The FSE Group, which manages the Enterprise M3 Growth Fund on behalf of Enterprise M3 Local Enterprise Partnership and led by Breed Reply, the Internet of Things investor and advanced incubator. Ralph Singleton, fund manager at The FSE Group comments: “We are delighted to have facilitated this deal that sees RazorSecure acquire the funding needed to take it to its next stage of growth. The company founders have identified a gap in the IT security market that they have been able to fill with their innovative IP. We look forward to working with Alex and the team to ensure that the company takes advantage of the opportunities available to truly reach its potential.”

The Enterprise M3 Growth Fund is part of the Enterprise M3 Funding Escalator, a £5.5million initiative funded by Enterprise M3 Local Enterprise Partnership. The escalator, which also includes an expansion loan fund, provides eligible companies with loans and equity funding between £50,000 and £200,000 for activities that will deliver high-growth and employment opportunities.. For more information about RazorSecure visit www.razorsecure.com.

Berkshire based software company Vigilant Applications has successfully completed its latest investment round, providing the necessary capital to fund further expansion of sales and operations resources in support of the company’s growth trajectory. The funding was led by The FSE Group with a combination of equity from the Thames Valley Berkshire Growth Fund, a group of business angels from the FSE Investor Network and others.

Vigilant Applications is a leading provider of software solutions that help organisations meet their IT Governance, Risk and Compliance obligations, mitigate exposure to risks arising from accidental or malicious actions of employees and identify fraudulent activity of various types. The company currently operates across a range of sectors - most notably Police, Healthcare and Financial Services. Its technology is also applied to Retail for identifying unusual or potentially fraudulent staff behaviour at point-of-sale terminals.

Andy Craig, Director at Vigilant Applications, “The potential market for our products is huge. With increasingly stringent Governance, Risk and Compliance obligations being placed on organisations in both the public and private sectors, demand for solutions that can help ensure standards are met without unduly impeding normal workflow continues to grow - and this is exactly where we sit. In Retail our products are geared towards the elimination of preventable loss and, in turn, protecting retailers’ operating margins. Since providing some initial debt funding, FSE have been very supportive and encouraging of our business. It’s refreshing to work with a funding partner that understands the challenges facing businesses going through significant but, at times, hard to predict growth.”

Bradley Jones, Fund Manager at the FSE Group, “We have known and worked with Vigilant Applications for a number of years. The company received initial debt support from us in 2013 and have since gone on to  increase their sector reach significantly, with a growing client base that includes a number of high profile organisations . This coupled with the company’s expanding partner base, makes us believe that this is the perfect opportunity for an equity investment. We wish the company all the best, and look forward to working with them in the future”.

About Vigilant Apps: Vigilant Applications Limited is a specialist provider of User Behaviour Management solutions. Its products detect and prevent unintentional, malicious or fraudulent activity, ensure business process integrity and secure regulatory, legislative and internal policy compliance - all proven by an irrefutable audit trail. Contact: mike.williams@vigilantapps.com