Tech consultancy hedgehog lab has acquired York-based app developer Netsells having secured a multimillion-pound investment.
The Newcastle firm, which also operates hubs in the US and Bulgaria, has received the backing of BGF (formerly the Business Growth Fund) in a £6.3m deal that sees an exit for previous investors Maven Capital Partners. Netsells will be branded as hedgehog lab and led by CEO Sarat Pediredla alongside a new executive board that includes ex-Accenture Song managing director and Karmarama founder Ben Bilboul.
Since launching in 2007, hedgehog lab has grown to work with a number of high profile brands including Aviva, Deliveroo and Tesco. It has made a name for itself delivering digital products using user experience research, user experience design, artificial intelligence, cloud and data science knowledge.
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Netsells was founded by a group of undergraduate developers and designs in their student halls in Scarborough and now employs a team of 40 developers, designers and strategists. It has delivered work for businesses such as Itsu, Hiscox, and Warburtons.
Sarat Pediredla said: "The acquisition of Netsells is a major milestone for us as a company. The combination of two firms with established and renowned capabilities will enhance our offering and growth prospects massively by bringing together some of the best talent in the industry and facilitating our continued expansion into new international markets.”
A Newcastle tech firm that creates neuro-inclusive products to help individuals with hidden learning needs has secured £4m equity investment to grow.
Cognassist has won the backing of private equity firm Gresham House Ventures and now plans to grow its share of the the education market and break into the enterprise market, where it says demand for neuro-inclusive solutions for employees is rapidly growing. Founded in 2019 by entrepreneur Chris Quickfall, Cognassist provides software that uses a cognitive dataset help identify and then support people with otherwise hidden learning needs.
As part of the deal, Gresham House Ventures has helped Cognassist appoint Nerissa Naidu to the firm's board. She brings senior experience from previous roles at global consulting firm Accenture and AIG and will advise the North East company on its environmental, social and governance strategy, as well as its technology and revenue generation strategies.
A Northumberland company is targeting growth in the renewable energy sector after being snapped up by a global sustainable solutions consultancy.
Bamburgh-based Calibrate Group Limited, which provides commercial heating and chilling systems, is set to grow following its acquisition by RSK Environment Limited. Founded more than a decade ago by Susie and Shane McDonald, Calibrate is active in a range of high-energy use sectors including agriculture, chemical processing, food and drink, tourism, manufacturing and education.
The company, which has 20 employees, is focused on helping its customers reduce their energy usage, control costs and contribute to a low-carbon economy - offering solutions including combined heat and power technologies and solar PVs and ground and air-sourced heat pumps.
Co-founder Susie McDonald said: “We are thrilled to become part of RSK to realise our vision to grow and make a greater impact.
“Although we are a progressive business, we have always been a small business with big ideas to expand into new industries. This acquisition by RSK allows us to take those ideas and accomplish our strategy quicker and with greater effect and we welcome the support and impressive credentials of RSK to enable us to accomplish that. In return, we are able to offer RSK a unique set of knowledge and skills to their wide-reaching credentials.”
Private equity firm Foresight Group revealed plans to open a Newcastle office ahead of efforts to expand its portfolio of investments in the region.
The listed investment manager has chosen offices on Newcastle's Grey Street for a base from which it will target established small firms that require debt and equity funding, typically up to £5m. Foresight boasts a near £60m North East Fund, the first part of which launched last year and has so far seen two deals constituting about £5.5m.
Now, a £20m injection from British Business Investments - a subsidiary of the British Business Bank - completes the second close. The firm says it has a number of deals on the table and hopes to be making announcements about further investments in the near future.
The North East Fund is targeted at businesses with headquarters, or significant operations in County Durham, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear, Teesside and also North Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, East Riding of Yorkshire, North Lincolnshire and North Yorkshire. Foresight already runs a Leeds office which it opened in September last year - a move it said had proven the "boots on the ground" value in running regional bases.
North East sports scientists who have worked with elite athletes in a number of sports have raised £1m to develop their employee wellbeing and performance app.
The investment from the North East Venture Fund, supported by the European Regional Development Fund and managed by Mercia, will enable Dr Phill Bell and Dr Paul Smith to further enhance their One Wellbeing mobile app and create around 10 new jobs at their Newcastle-based company, ART Health Solutions.
One Wellbeing anonymously assesses employees’ health and wellbeing by bringing together data from their smartphones and fitness trackers, performance tests and factors such as working environment, location and schedules. It then provides tailored content to address individuals’ specific needs, while also providing employers with data to help them improve the workplace experience for staff.
Dr Bell and Dr Smith started their career working with elite athletes such as Chris Froome, Rory McIlroy, Jensen Button and the England rugby team. They founded ART Health in 2018 to carry out consultancy work with corporate clients, and developed a range of tools to enable them to collect data remotely. The latest funding round follows an initial £800,000 investment last year to enable the company to develop the product and carry out initial trials.
Dr Bell, CEO at ART Health Solutions, said: “We’re absolutely delighted that Mercia and the North East Venture Fund have backed up their initial funding round with this further injection of capital, demonstrating their commitment to us as a business and their confidence in our ability to deliver both shareholder and client value. Ultimately the extra capital will support the business in scaling our products throughout the UK and beyond.”
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