Orka Technology Group secures £3 million Series A investment from Praetura Ventures

  • The investment will support Orka’s plans to revolutionise recruitment for flexible workers
  • Orka’s clients include leading companies such as G4S, ISS and Wilson James

Orka Technology Group (Orka), a SaaS business that provides tech-based solutions for shift workers and their employers, has secured £3m investment from venture capital investor Praetura Ventures.

The business will use the funding to support people – such as cleaners, engineers and security staff – seeking shift work in the facilities management (FM) sector by helping them to source job opportunities, onboard with new employers and get paid.

Headquartered in Manchester, its products include a platform that enables workers to find temporary employment with large organisations; a flexible payment product that allows workers to access 50 per cent of their wages as soon as they’ve earned them; and a soon-to-be-launched passport system that will eliminate the need for background assessments every time someone sources work through Orka.

More than 60,000 people already use Orka’s products and, over the last four years, it has become the go-to tech solution for shift workers. In an average month, Orka helps 6,000 people source work across more than 2,000 sites nationwide, and it currently works with over half of the UK’s top 30 security companies, including leading names such as G4S, ISS and Wilson James.

With Praetura Ventures’ investment, Orka plans to accelerate product development, grow its API integration programme and target growth in new markets, including in the mechanical and electrical sectors.

It also plans to build out its data science and machine learning ambitions to automate as many of the tasks carried out by workers and employers as possible, enabling faster and more frictionless processes on both sides.

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.”

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.”

Following the investment, Orka Technology Group will join Praetura Ventures’ growing portfolio, which includes many other North West best-in-industry technology businesses, such as Peak, Culture Shift and BankiFi.  

In a recent development, Orka Technology Group raised £29m funding. This round was 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.

ENDS

Notes to Editors

For any press enquiries, please contact [email protected]

About Orka Technology Group

Based in Manchester, Orka provides smart, tech-based solutions for shift workers (who make up 85% of the global workforce) and their employers – these include Orka Works, Orka Pay and Orka Check.

The Orka Works app is currently used by 50,000 shift workers, allowing them to quickly and easily find fair and flexible employment with large organisations working in traditional, regulated industries. Our partner companies include G4S, ISS, OCS and Atalian Servest.

Orka Pay, launched in June 2020, allows shift workers to access up to 50% of wages as soon as they have earned them through a shift.

Orka Check, which is yet to launch to market, is a passport system for shift workers which eliminates the need for lengthy background assessments every time someone works a shift for a different employer through Orka Works.

The three products come together to create the Orka operating system for hourly-paid workers, creating an accessible, seamless, integrated experience for shift workers which makes their lives easier and removes barriers to entry.

Learn more at www.orka.group and LinkedIn

About Praetura Ventures

Praetura Ventures is a Manchester-based venture capital firm which invests in early-stage, high-growth businesses across the UK, with a particular focus on supporting entrepreneurs across the North of England.  

Praetura Ventures is committed to adding value post-investment and providing the ‘more than money’ support that businesses need to grow, including additional expertise, resources, networks and guidance, to its investee companies.  

Since 2019, Praetura Ventures has invested circa £50m in 26 companies, including North West headquartered businesses Sorted, Culture Shift, LCC and Peak.   

The firm also has a Venture Partner programme – an innovative and collaborative initiative that is aimed at experienced, connected and successful individuals who have a desire to add value and potentially provide mentorship, advice, introductions and investment to the next generation of entrepreneurs. In just a few months, the firm has grown its Venture Partner base to 85+ members, typically C-suite level individuals.  

Learn more at praeturaventures.com and LinkedIn

Pevini Peiris

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