NPIF – Maven Equity Finance leads £600,000 investment into YR Free

Liverpool based transformational video collaboration platform secures follow-on funding to make key hires across its management team as it embarks on a programme of growth.

NPIF – Maven Equity Finance, part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (“NPIF”) and managed by Maven Capital Partners (“Maven”), has led a £600,000 funding round for YR Free Labs Limited (“YR Free”), a business providing secure technology for digitally recorded media via a video collaboration platform called ‘eviid’. The NPIF – Maven Equity Fund invested £600,000, alongside £225,000 from the Government’s Future Fund

NPIF originally invested in the Liverpool based business in 2017. Today’s follow-on investment will allow the business to embark on a programme of rapid growth, making key hires across its management team and supporting the company as it expands its customer reach.

The eviid platform enables businesses to use live and recorded smartphone video in their processes, connecting with workers in the field or assisting customers in submitting video and photos as evidence. Its patented evidential technology ensures all video and image content is verifiable and auditable, as well as opening up opportunities around workflow automation and AI. The technology turns video and photos captured on smart devices into reliable, verifiable evidence that is suitable for use in court proceedings, claims management and compliance cases.

Since CEO John Ridd founded the company in 2008, YR Free has gone beyond simple video integration, evolving the eviid product into a powerful workflow tool and enterprise grade platform. Today, eviid’s patented technology underpins evidential video applications for some of the biggest names in insurance, FM, security and infrastructure across the UK and internationally including Australia, India, Europe and the US.

John Ridd, CEO and co-founder of YR Free, said: 

“At the heart of the eviid platform sits our unique patented evidential technology as well as a robust system for handling video in enterprise contexts. It’s incredibly scalable, with applications in numerous sectors beyond the ones we are serving today. The pandemic has really put video on the map and businesses around the world have realised how much can be done remotely. We have a long-term solution for this – a secure and proven system for integrating video and images into business workflows.

“As we come out of the current crisis, video will stay. Not as an emergency tool in a pandemic, but as a smart, lean and sustainable way of doing business. This new funding allows us to capitalise on our unique market position, take our offering into new markets and scale up rapidly.”

Simon Robb, Portfolio Manager at Maven, said: 

“The eviid platform plays a crucial role in a number of sectors and we’re delighted to back the business at an exciting stage in the company’s growth journey. The business has evolved considerably since we originally invested back in 2017 and we look forward to working with John and the team as they scale up the eviid platform.”

Sue Barnard at British Business Bank, said: 

“The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund seeks to boost growth in businesses across the region with finance to support new jobs and expansion. Funding such as this highlights the important role of external finance, helping local businesses to fulfil their growth ambitions. We would encourage other businesses seeking to grow to see what funding support is available from NPIF”

Janice Mears, Head of Business Growth at Growth Platform said: 

“I am delighted to see yet another City Region business benefit from funding made available through the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF). This fund provides valuable support to our business community, particularly those with high growth potential to expand and create jobs in the City Region.”

The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund project 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 and the European Investment Bank. 

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Further information

For media enquiries or any questions about the investment, please contact:

Maven Capital Partners

Nikola Clarke                          07791 179 834            [email protected]

Sapience Communications (PR to Maven)           

Borja Miquel                            074 6347 7697            [email protected]
Sasha Johnson                       077 1785 5741            [email protected]

Notes to Editors

About Maven Capital Partners UK LLP
www.mavencp.com   

Maven Capital Partners UK LLP (Maven) is an independent private equity house focused on the provision of flexible equity and debt funding for UK SMEs, and one of the most active managers in the UK having invested over £500 million in British businesses since 2009.

Headquartered in Glasgow, and with eleven offices throughout the UK, Maven has over 100 investment and support professionals providing a truly nationwide coverage. Maven has £660 million funds under management and ready to invest, and manages assets for a variety of client funds, including Venture Capital Trusts, UK regional fund mandates, and Maven Investor Partners, a syndicate of institutional, family office and experienced investors.

About the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund        
www.funds.mavencp.com/npif

• The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund will invest in Microfinance, Business Loans and Equity Finance sub-funds which will offer financing ranging from £25,000 to £2m, specifically to help small and medium sized businesses secure the funding they need for growth and development.
• The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund is operated by British Business Financial Services Limited, wholly owned by British Business Bank, the UK’s national economic development bank. Established in November 2014, its mission is to make finance markets for smaller businesses work more effectively, enabling those businesses to prosper, grow and build UK economic activity.
• The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund is supported by the European Regional Development Fund, the European Investment Bank, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and British Business Finance Limited, a British Business Bank group company.
• The NPIF covers the following LEP areas: Tees Valley Combined Authority, Greater Manchester, Cheshire and Warrington, Cumbria, Liverpool City Region, Lancashire, Humber, Leeds City Region, Sheffield City Region, York, North Yorkshire and East Riding
• The project is receiving up to £140,359,192 of funding from the England European Regional Development Fund as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020. The Department for Communities and Local Government is the Managing Authority for European Regional Development Fund. Established by the European Union, the European Regional Development Fund helps local areas stimulate their economic development by investing in projects which will support innovation, businesses, create jobs and local community regenerations. For more information visit https://www.gov.uk/european-growth-funding.
• The funds in which Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund invests are open to businesses with material operations, or planning to open material operations, in, Yorkshire and the Humber, the North West and Tees Valley.
• The British Business Bank has published the Business Finance Guide (in partnership with the ICAEW, and a further 21 business and finance organisations). The guide, which impartially sets out the range finance options available to businesses and provides links to support available at a regional level, is available at thebusinessfinanceguide.co.uk/bbb