A technology company which works with the likes of G4S, ISS and Wilson James has secured a £3m investment from Praetura Ventures.
Orka Technology Group has said it will use the funding to support people, such as cleaners, engineers and security staff, seeking shift work in the facilities management sector by helping them to source job opportunities, onboard with new employers and get paid.
It also plans to accelerate product development, grow its API integration programme and target growth in new markets, including in the mechanical and electrical sectors
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The company is headquartered in the Spinningfields area of Manchester while its new investor is also based in the city.
More than 60,000 people already use Orka’s products and, in an average month, the company helps 6,000 people source work across more than 2,000 sites nationwide.
Tom Pickersgill, co-founder and CEO of Orka, said: "We have been growing at pace over the past four years with a vision to transform the sourcing, onboarding and payment experience for both employers and their employees, culminating in the ultimate infrastructure for hourly-paid workforces.
"In this time, the employment landscape has changed dramatically and shift workers, who make up 85 per cent of the global workforce, are becoming even more flexible and keener to adopt technology that can support their needs.
"They are now looking for work that fits around their life without having to navigate the often-complex job hunting process.
"We are thrilled that Praetura Ventures has bought into our vision and will support us in building the infrastructure for hourly-paid workforces and an operating system that will give our users the ideal journey based on their needs.
"We can now really look at adding value for our business clients while commercialising the model and keeping the value and focus on the worker."
Other companies in Praetura Ventures' portfolio include Peak, Culture Shift and BankiFi.
David Foreman, managing director of Praetura Ventures, added: "Our mission has long been to support brilliant Northern businesses with exceptional founders.
"Orka ticks both boxes and we’re looking forward to working closely with the team as they continue to address many of the pain points that exist within the shift work and labour space, including a lack of transparency when putting candidates forward for roles.
"Given the company’s track record in this sector and the changing face of work, investing in Orka made complete sense.
"We’re excited to play a supportive role in the business’ growth story by providing more than money, including but not limited to guidance from our operational partners and portfolio team to help Orka scale its SaaS solutions."
The £3m boost comes after Orka Technology Group raised £29m through a mixture of debt financing from Sonovate and equity funding involving the British Business Bank Future Fund and existing investors, including former UK CEO of Adecco Peter Searle.
With this, the overall funding raised by the company totals £31.5m.
The Orka Technology Group deal was facilitated by Praetura Ventures’ Peter Carway (investment director), Louise Chapman (investment director) and Sim Singh-Landa (investment manager).
Cooley provided legal advice to Orka and Irwin Mitchell provided legal advice to Praetura Ventures.
