EXM Insight, the next-generation solution for portfolio monitoring and value creation for the Private Equity industry, has successfully completed a £400,000 funding round with a £200,000 investment from the Enterprise M3 Growth Fund, managed by The FSE Group.

Juan Manrique the founder of Hydra and Manfredi Bargioni the COO, executed a spin-out of EXM-Insight from Hydra in 2019 to deliver this innovative digital solution for the Private Equity Industry. It is designed to help Private Equity general partners to define, communicate and control the execution of their business strategy around the concept of “Value Creation Drivers”. With a unique technology to extract financial data directly from companies’ accounting systems, EXM also ensures the timeliness and integrity of data contributing to the monthly and quarterly reports of the funds.

Currently, there are no other businesses operating in the marketplace that can offer a similar digitised product solution to that of EXM-Insight. Operating off any device, this solution has many benefits for Private Equity managers who have continually sought to digitise the core of their operational toolkit, in the knowledge that the greater the standardisation of processes across a portfolio, the greater the visibility, control and potential to drive higher efficiencies, profits and exit valuations.

 Juan Manrique, Founder of EXM Insight, commented, “Value creation is a vital aspect of managing a Private Equity portfolio and EXM offers the digital solution to align all stakeholders and accelerate the process of creating value. All the while providing accurate, timely financial and operations data to make real-time decisions, ultimately supporting portfolio managers to achieve greater profitability and growth. We were really pleased to be able to secure funding from The FSE Group, working closely with Paul to ensure that we can continue to grow the business by offering the best agile software solution for this industry.”

Paul Lyristis, Senior Fund Manager, at The FSE Group, which manages the Enterprise M3 Growth Fund on behalf of the LEP adds: “EXM-Insight offer a great solution for Private Equity investors to drive and monitor value creation for their portfolio companies.  Insight has been designed from scratch as a bespoke solution for Private Equity; we believe that there is no other comparable product in the market. Working with Juan and his team was a real pleasure and we look forward to watching the business continue to grow and to alter the way that PE investors look at their portfolios."

Kathy Slack OBE, Enterprise M3 CEO said: “I’m delighted that we’ve been able to invest in EXM-Insight through the Enterprise M3 Growth Fund; encouraging innovation is at the heart of everything we do. The digitisation of our economy is becoming increasingly important to businesses so to see a company innovate and create a bespoke financial product unlike anything else on the market is fantastic and something that our area can be rightly proud of.”

For more information about EXM Insight, visit  https://www.exm.cloud or contact Sacha Holmes tel: +44 203 884 8890

Situated in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, Eyewear Direct was founded in 2018 by Brett Waugh. Brett’s vision was clear: to design, manufacture and distribute quality eyewear at competitive prices, be that Sunglasses, Optical Frames or Safety Glasses.

The Eyewear Direct team scour the world for inspiration, visiting trade shows in London, Paris, Milan and New York, enabling them to bring the most current designs to the factory, ensuring their customers are the first to wear the latest look.

Their impressive brand portfolio consists of Ashton Riley, HOOK LDN, Rédélé, and Sunwise. Optical frames and safety glasses are available from Specsavers and independent opticians throughout the UK, whilst sunglasses can be purchased from several high street retailers such as John Lewis, Debenhams, Crew Clothing, Saltrock, Claire’s and M&M Direct. They are also available from high-end, popular British mail order and online clothing retailer, Boden.

Brett Waugh, Founder of Eyewear Direct commented: “As the business continues to grow, our GLIF loan will help us invest in our team, enabling us to create 7 new positions with a primary focus on business development and relationship management. We are also looking to strengthen our marketing function with PR and advertising to support the industry events which we attend. This loan will create exciting opportunities for us and for London.”

David Booth, Senior Fund Manager for The FSE Group, who managed the £55 million GLIF debt fund on behalf of Funding London, commented: “It was a pleasure to work with Brett and support his business expansion plans. The business demonstrates strong commercial traction in an exciting market, as well as growth in his London team. GLIF helps to support innovative growth companies with the potential to impact on the local economy. We look forward to the next stage of Brett’s journey.”

Maggie Rodriguez-Piza, CEO at Funding London, adds: “Enabling the pursuit of opportunities for ambitious London based businesses is the focus of our 'Greater London Investment Fund' (GLIF). We are therefore, delighted to support Brett and his team by providing the capital required for the Eyewear Direct expansion.

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.

Codices brings both the players and their own a-game in a landslide month.

While the pandemic may have bogged down this summer for the wider population, August 2020 speaks as a testament that Codices Interactive is merely hitting its stride as a startup.

To start off the month, the company saw its largest event to date, working with Digital Extremes to bring TennoCon 2020 to life online. Building off of Codices’ current product Quiz Kit, the teams produced TennoTrivia, a Warframe-themed quiz section for the event, aimed at keeping their audience involved and interacting in what would have been a one-way streaming event otherwise. In the hour-long show, there were over 92,000 emails collected and prizes given out, to participants from 47 countries, many of whom wouldn’t have been able to attend the physical event. The game was a roaring success, with over 300,000 players in total being involved in answering questions, making Quiz Kit officially one of the top 10 most concurrently played games on Twitch so far this year.

This record comes just after Codices saw its first million users in a month. But, after the success of TennoCon and reaching almost a third of a million players in one day the company is set to break their own records again.

Codices also managed to score a win at the Digital TV Group’s first ever TV Transformers Showcase. The new showcase aimed to bring to light tech companies that aim to innovate the way we use and interact with television, and they beat 7 other pitching businesses, being voted in by both the audience and the judging panel.

For more information about Codices visit: https://www.codices.io/

Since establishment in 2002, The FSE Group has been operating at the heart of the SME community, serving eligible businesses who are unable to source funding from conventional or even alternative funding channels, helping them to realise their growth ambitions. This challenge has never fallen into greater focus than in these current exceptional times.

It may be that your business had to pause temporarily due to COVID-19 and you may now be thinking about gradually returning to work, re-introducing employees back to the workplace, re-establishing supplier relationships and re-commencing contracts whilst adjusting to business as (un)usual.

In the “here and now” cashflow and financial concerns could seem more prevalent than before and it might be that your business could benefit from a short-term cash injection, but you may not be sure of any remaining options available to you.

One of the products within The FSE Group’s portfolio, offered in certain regions of the UK for which your SME could be eligible is the East of England Regional Trade Finance Loan Scheme.

This scheme is available to eligible SMEs who are established as a limited company and have a material part of its operations located within Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk or Suffolk. Loan amounts range from £50,000 - £250,000 and are repayable over 3 – 12 months.

You could be eligible for this scheme if you have a short-term trade funding requirement that may include the following criteria:

• Working capital for specific new contracts/orders: enabling SMEs to fulfil particular orders or contracts which would otherwise have been unattainable due to the working capital cycles involved (e.g. up-front supplier payments, delivery timescales, client payment terms)
• Short term irregular invoicing patterns from specific contracts/projects
• Up-front tooling requirements for identifiable medium-term contracts or export activity
• Cash-backing for performance bonds/guarantees: temporary credit enhancement to enable banks to support SMEs in the tendering and delivery of significant/strategic contracts

Background

Farnborough based sovereign company TriCIS, established in October 2016 by Co-Founders Antony Summerfield (CEO) Tim Luxford (Special Projects Director) and Robert Cook (technical Director), encompasses a Management team with in excess of 30 years’ experience delivering end-to-end, high security and exceptional quality solutions for complete systems integration to MoD, Government and NATO.

TriCIS incorporates UK CFTCS, MILITARY Standards, HMG security requirements and NATO TEMPEST standards.

Challenges which face the Defence and Government Agencies and how TriCIS provide solutions

The MOD, Government and NATO rely heavily on assured information. It is vital that information and the systems used to manage and process the data are as effective as possible. Currently, in order to deliver improvements at speed and scale them, the MOD, Government and NATO agencies must manage their data far more effectively than they do today.

New and emerging technologies can provide better capabilities to operations and supporting functions and this is where businesses such as TriCIS step in.

TriCIS through innovation is on a mission to help their clients increase the value of their data and give them the ability to use it effectively to improve the decisions they make. Improving efficiency and productivity will enable their customers processes to run smoother and faster no matter where they are in the world.

One example of this, is where TriCIS, working alongside counterparts within the US and Tier 1 partners, Dell, was faced with the dilemma of how to reduce hardware, whilst having readily available all of the software required to securely and successfully fulfil operations. To put this into perspective, imagine being on the front line of a war zone, carrying double of each piece of hardware and communication equipment which you need at that time, to access information on different systems. TriCIS listened to the problem, secured a solution and are currently taking that solution through UK accreditation.

All the time the systems remain: Secure. Integrated. Encrypted.

Seeing Into the future with The FSE Group

Although originally established as an Engineering Business, Antony always had his sights set on expansion to cover the most pressing needs of the industry and more importantly the end users who require access to information wherever they are in the world.

Three years on, TriCIS has increased its portfolio of services which include PCoIP technology, advanced encryption software capabilities and electromagnetic protection.

Ralph Singleton, from The FSE Group, who managed the investment in TriCIS from the Enterprise M3 Growth Fund, comments: “TriCIS take the time to listen to the needs of their clients. They have the expertise and capability within the fields which they operate, to be able to offer a quick turnaround, with smaller batch quantities by liaising with their tier 1 affiliates. This affords them the ability to respond quickly and provide the solutions required for their clients. It was a pleasure to work with Antony, Tim and Robert and to be able to invest in the business, see them appoint a CFO whilst strengthening their product offering. As technology continues to evolve, I wish them all every success for the 21st century and beyond.”

Ann-Marie Warner-Read, Defence Director at TriCIS adds: “TriCIS aims to support the security, independence, and interests of Governments, Armed Forces and Allied partners. At TriCIS we are passionate about our end users. Always striving for innovation and engineering excellence which underpins our ethos of putting the customer at the heart of what we do. As part of the SME community, we have worked tirelessly throughout the current COVID-19 pandemic, providing much needed capability to our Defence and Government Clients. This achievement was rewarded at The UK Enterprise Awards 2020, on behalf of SME News, quarterly digital publication who bestowed TriCIS with 2 awards: “Best Military Grade Computing & Network Company” and ICT & Peripheral Equipment Innovation Excellence Award.” We look forward to continue being innovative and passionate about what we do in the future.”

The Enterprise M3 Funding Escalator II is £10million initiative funded by Enterprise M3 Local Enterprise Partnership. The escalator, which includes an expansion loan scheme, a trade finance loan scheme and an equity growth fund, provides eligible companies with loans and equity funding between £50,000 and £300,000 for activities that will deliver high-growth and employment opportunities across the EM3 area.

For more information about TriCIS, visit www.tricis.co.uk

The global pandemic COVID-19, has been described as the worst economic crisis for 90 years, hitting UK SMEs particularly hard. Many were forced to furlough their employees or cease trading altogether.

No doubt the months ahead will be challenging, in ways that could not previously have been predicted. In these uncertain times, whilst the road to recovery is a long one, it is important to remember that UK SMEs are both resilient and creative.

Despite the pandemic and difficulties faced by Cornish SMEs, The Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Investment Fund (CIOSIF) has continued to support eligible businesses in the region, from a wide range of sectors.

SMEs have been able to secure either debt or equity funding to help their business grow and succeed. Over the past few months during lockdown, CIOSIF has completed four new deals:

Penryn based Red Planet Publishing Ltd an independent publishing house, producing books, e-books and music (£80,000 debt)

Bude based Service Robotics Ltd created the UK’s first companion robot, designed to support vulnerable and elderly people (£300k CIOSIF equity)

Penryn based Glas Data Ltd developed a data management and decision support tool for agriculture (£140k CIOSIF equity)

Codices Interactive Ltd designed an interactive video platform for live streaming (£250k equity)

Three follow-on investments also completed during the pandemic with more deals expected to complete in the next quarter.

Redruth based Wildanet Ltd, received further investment which will enable them to continue with the roll out of high-speed broadband across the county

Truro based Clinical Designs Technologies Ltd received follow-on funding to assist them with the rollout of their Urine Testing System both in the UK and abroad

Truro based software company, Colateral (formerly known as Swoop Applications Ltd) received follow-on funding to support their continued Growth

As well as deal completions, the CIOSIF team are poised, ready and available to enable SMEs in the region to get back on track, achieve accelerated growth post COVID-19 whilst adapting their business to the current “new normal.”  Their regular informative webinars, advice and support groups have permitted them to provide this level of care to existing clients, whilst also reaching out to the wider region

Ralph Singleton, Head of Fund at The FSE Group, adds: “Over the past two years,The Cornwall & Isles of Scilly Fund has supported 23 local businesses with £5.4m of investment and enabled a further £4.2m of external investment, bringing total investment into the region via CIOSIF of £9.6m. This investment has led to the creation of 82 new jobs within the region. The fund has invested in a wide range of sectors including digital technology, healthcare, artisan baking, online retail, support services, recreational activities and manufacturing.    

The fund has also spent considerable effort helping companies become “investment ready” which can take time but will provide better long-term opportunities for the Company, the Fund and Cornwall.”

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 Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and is operated by appointed fund managers The FSE Group.

CIOSIF is supported 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.

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

Hampshire based company Zennergy International Ltd., has received £125,000 from the Enterprise M3 Short Term Trade Finance Loan Scheme. The funding will be used as working capital against a specific contract based in the Middle East.

Zennergy was established in 2010 by Phil Holland, who decided to start his own company after gaining 40+ years’ experience in the industry and international recognition as a supplier of Infrastructure Solutions to the Gas Power Market.

The mission at Zennergy is clear: “To deliver first class, gas industry solutions and services to customers worldwide.” Working alongside their associates, Zennergy offer worldwide solutions. Delivering complete turnkey gas infrastructure solutions through innovative engineering design, consultancy, project management, installation and ongoing operation and maintenance, handling million-pound projects and turning them round within 16-20 weeks.

One of the company’s strengths is the speed at which they are able to respond to their client’s specific requirements by using their capability, knowledge and agility.

Phil Holland, Managing Director of Zennergy Ltd commented: “Energy need is becoming much more decentralised with smaller power systems needed for meeting peak period requirements, and this fits well with our expertise. Working with our associated companies, we can provide quality, fully certified and tested products on all projects undertaken as well as ISO 9001 and Gas Safety Certification. Our thanks to Derek for giving us sound financial advice about how best to fund an overseas contract which we have recently been awarded.”

Derek Ellis, Fund Manager at The FSE Group, which manages the Enterprise M3 Short Term Trade Finance Loan Scheme on behalf of Enterprise M3 Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), comments: “It was a pleasure to be introduced to Phil and to be able to support his new contract. The company has a successful track record of working on projects for gas utilities, gas to power projects and industrial applications. I wish Phil and his highly skilled workforce all the best for the forthcoming contract.”

Kathy Slack, Director, Enterprise M3 LEP, comments: “Gaining inroads in overseas trade is critically important at this current time and we know that exporting goods and services can lead to productivity improvements that are so vital for our economy. I’m pleased to see our Short Term Trade Finance Loan Scheme helping Zennergy to fund their overseas contract. In difficult economic times it is encouraging to see companies in our area continuing to expand their work.”

The Enterprise M3 Short Term Trade Finance Loan Scheme is part of the Enterprise M3 Funding Escalator, £10million initiative funded by Enterprise M3 LEP. The escalator, which also includes an expansion loan scheme and an equity growth fund, provides eligible companies with loans and equity funding between £50,000 and £300,000 for activities that will deliver high-growth and employment opportunities across the EM3 area.

For more information about Zennergy Ltd, visit: http://www.zennergy-int.co.uk/

Since establishment in 2002, The FSE Group has been operating at the heart of the SME community helping them to realise their growth ambitions.

This challenge has never fallen into greater focus than in these current exceptional times.

It may be that your business has had to pause temporarily due to COVID-19 and you may now be thinking about gradually returning to work, re-introducing employees back to the workplace, re-establishing supplier relationships and re-commencing contracts whilst adjusting to business as (un)usual.

In the “here and now” cashflow and financial concerns could seem more prevalent than before and it might be that your business could benefit from a short-term cash injection, but you may not be sure of all the options available to you.

One of the products within The FSE Group’s portfolio, offered in the South East for which your SME could be eligible is the Trade Finance Loan Scheme.

South East – Short Term Trade Finance Loan Scheme

The term trade finance loan is available to eligible SMEs who are established as a limited company and have a material part of its operations located within the Enterprise M3 or Thames Valley Berkshire area. 

Loan amounts range from £50,000 - £300,000 and are repayable over 3 – 12 months.

You could be eligible for this scheme if you have a short-term trade funding requirement that may include the following criteria:

• Working capital for specific new contracts or orders, which would enable your business to fulfil orders or contracts
• Short term irregular invoicing patterns from specific contracts/projects
• Up-front tooling requirements for identifiable medium-term contracts or export activity
• Cash-backing for performance bonds/guarantees: temporary credit enhancement to enable banks to support SMEs in the tendering and delivery of significant/strategic contracts

Surrey business Symvolli, has secured £200,000 from the Enterprise M3 (EM3) Expansion Loan Scheme, to fund various activities including business expansion, product development and the creation of new positions within the rapidly growing business.

Symvolli, established in 2004 by George Petri, who has over 35 years’ experience in software development, spotted a problem in the market.  Many professional and technical services sector SMEs Symvolli was working with also experienced this problem, namely the inability to access an affordable, multi-functional operations cloud-based system incorporating Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Enterprise Resource Management (ERP) systems in one place.

Historically, the varied and sometimes manual processes involved in running a business, were both dis-jointed and reliant on unconnected systems combined with process driven tasks, such as complex spreadsheets which could result in the duplication of data entry distorting the SMEs reporting.  As businesses look to scale-up to reach their next growth level, it is paramount that they feel confident that the source data used for reporting purposes is accurate and can be accessed easily and efficiently.

The company’s innovative, leading edge and cost-effective web-based solution focusses on providing SMEs with the processes and tools needed to manage their businesses better. Symvolli is different in three key respects: it offers total business support, product and services life-cycle management and business intelligence. It amalgamates all the core data in the cloud, negating the need for SMEs to use multiple applications within a business.

George Petri, Director of Symvolli Ltd commented: “Refining every process in a business will make it far more efficient for SMEs to identify possible obstacles to their progress and re-focus their strategy. Symvolli’s reports will provide the ability to convert data accurately and instantly into knowledge. Having the processes and tools which they need, from one source, will help SMEs make informed decisions to grow their business. I would like to thank James for his help in securing this investment and for enabling us to further develop the solution to include Environment and Health and Safety, Governance, Risk and Compliance, as well as industry specific applications. The investment will also permit us to bring on new team members to help us develop the product, in turn, Symvolli can then support other SMEs with their own growth and expansion plans”

James Edwards, Senior Fund Manager at The FSE Group, which manages the EM3 Expansion Loan Scheme on behalf of Enterprise M3 Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), comments: “It was a pleasure to work with George and his Surrey based team to help them secure the investment needed to help Symvolli reach the next level of their own growth. Recently the business has been working on a mobile friendly app so that SMEs can have access whilst on the go which is an excellent addition to the company’s current offering. I wish the team every success with the next stage and look forward to seeing their progress.”

Kathy Slack, Director, Enterprise M3 LEP, comments: “I am really pleased that our Expansion Loan Scheme is helping Symvolli. Many SMEs are trying to adapt to this new post-Covid environment and innovative, cloud-based solutions which provide a tangible benefit to their workforce are vital to that. I look forward to seeing their continued success.”

The EM3 Expansion Loan Scheme is part of the Enterprise M3 Funding Escalator, £10million initiative funded by Enterprise M3 LEP. The escalator, which also includes a short-term trade loan scheme and an equity growth fund, provides eligible companies with loans and equity funding between £50,000 and £300,000 for activities that will deliver high-growth and employment opportunities across the EM3 area.

For more information about Symvolli Ltd, visit: www.symvolli.com

Truro based software company Colateral has successfully completed its latest funding round including further investment of £200,000 from both the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Investment Fund (CIOSIF) and existing corporate investor, SMP Group PLC. The Future Fund, which supports innovative UK companies with growth potential, has also committed £400,000.

Previously known as Swoop Applications, the company has recently rebranded as Colateral in order to improve market relevance. Their market leading Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform seamlessly manages instore marketing campaigns for retailers, cutting waste, improving communication with stores and helping to drive increased sales with better display compliance. They work with some of the UK’s leading retailers including Paddy Power, The Works and WH Smith.

During the coronavirus pandemic retailers have used Colateral to optimise and streamline instore marketing processes and minimise the production of unused print materials. Latest product developments include the ability to send personalised visual instructions to store teams and to track and analyse display compliance with new campaigns.

Robert Salvoni, Colateral Chairman, said: “When we first set out to develop our platform, it quickly became clear that instore marketing was one of the most common retail challenges without a good solution. Colateral is an end-to-end solution, capturing the needs of individual stores and tailoring campaigns to match. As the business continues to grow and expand, even in these unprecedented market conditions, we are delighted to have received additional funding from CIOSIF and our private investors, allowing us to continue with our recruitment drive, further developing our already strong and robust team. Recently our product development has focused on the implementation speed of the platform and we look to forward to strengthening this with this recent round of investment.”

Ralph Singleton, Head of Fund at The FSE Group, said: “We are pleased to be continuing to support an innovative Cornish company that is starting to gain traction with some of the largest retailers in the UK. Against the backdrop of the weak high street, Colateral offers its customers the ability to save costs, become more efficient, reduce waste and meet exacting governance requirements.  Further product development and new customer wins will be key to future success. We were delighted to be able to provide a second funding round to further support Colateral on their journey.”

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 Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and is operated by appointed fund managers The FSE Group.

Sarah Newbould, Senior Manager at the British Business Bank, said: “Investment from both CIOSIF and the Future Fund illustrates the support available to businesses in the region looking for equity investment, with this latest funding round helping Colateral with its ambitions to build and scale the business, as they continue to deliver value to customers in a sector that has been hard-hit by the pandemic.”

LEP non-executive director John Acornley, who chairs the CIOSIF Advisory Board, said: “Cornwall has a growing reputation for nurturing tech companies and Colateral is a great example of that. The fund’s latest investment follows a £600,000 equity stake last year and it’s vital that we continue to invest in growing businesses that create quality jobs and showcase UK innovation in global markets.”

CIOSIF is supported 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.

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