A Birmingham based technology company has secured investment from the Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF), provided by The FSE Group Debt Finance Fund and backed by the Recovery Loan Scheme, to support further growth of the business.

Learning Labs has developed FlashAcademy®, a leading UK digital education platform, which is used by schools and colleges across the UK to support teaching English as an Additional Language (EAL). The £250,000 MEIF funding will be used to create new jobs and expand its digital marketing department.

The award-winning FlashAcademy® app teaches English from almost 50 different languages, providing an independent learning experience on any device, smartphone, tablet or PC that can be used in a classroom setting or for remote learning. 

The app uses a mix of digital lessons, gamification and the world’s first object translator where the user can take a photo of any object to be instantly translated. The software is currently being used in almost 1,000 schools across the UK and is supporting over 250,000 individual learners.         

Veejay Lingiah, Learning Labs CEO, said: “At Learning Labs we believe that every child and young person across the UK deserves to be getting the best from their education experience. Our product supports teachers in unlocking the potential of non-native-speaking students without the need for time and budget resources that many schools and colleges do not have. With this MEIF loan, FSE has provided the right funding at the right time to support this next phase of our growth as we continue to develop our offering, expand into the FE market, and further scale the business.”

Harriet Saunders, Portfolio Manager at The FSE Group, commented: “Learning Labs  has been on a high-growth trajectory since creating its EAL offering in 2018. Having already attracted significant equity investment, its management was keen not to dilute ownership with further equity at this stage. We are delighted to provide this market-leading business with the growth funding needed to support it through this next phase of growth and look forward to working with this innovative team.” 

There are currently over 1.6m EAL pupils in the UK, representing 1 in 5 at primary school and 1 in 6 at secondary school. In more than 4000 schools this accounts for over 30% of their pupil cohort. Learning Labs, which builds all its products internally, with in-house development, design, content and product management teams, is well-placed to support the growing EAL and ESOL markets across all age groups.

Tracy Sherratt, Senior Manager UK Network at British Business Bank, said: “The MEIF supports businesses across the Midlands that provide a range of innovative products and services, with Flash Academy’s award winning app proving their success to date. The MEIF continues to provide funding to companies across the Midlands to help develop the wider region with continued job creation and more investment.”  

The Midlands Engine 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 2014-2022 and the European Investment Bank. The FSE Group manages a section of MEIF that provides investments between £100,000 and £1.5 million to support growing SMEs across the region. For more information visit: www.thefsegroup.com/fund/midlands-engine-investment-fund-debt-finance.

-ENDS-

Notes to editors

For more information about the MEIF Debt Finance Fund visit https://www.thefsegroup.com/fund/midlands-engine-investment-fund-debt-finance/.

For more information about Flash Academy visit https://flashacademy.com/ 

About the Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF)

The Midlands Engine Investment Fund, supported by the European Regional Development Fund, will invest in Debt Finance, Small Business Loans, Proof-of-Concept and Equity Finance funds, ranging from £25,000 to £2m, specifically to help small and medium sized businesses secure the funding they need for growth and development.

The Midlands Engine 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 Midlands Engine 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 MEIF covers the following LEP areas: Black Country, Coventry & Warwickshire, Greater Birmingham & Solihull, Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire, The Marches, and Worcestershire in the West Midlands; and Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham & Nottinghamshire (D2N2) Greater Lincolnshire, Leicester and Leicestershire, and South-East Midlands in the East and South-East Midlands.

The project is receiving up to £78,550,000 of funding from the England European Regional Development Fund as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020. The programme will continue to spend to the end of 2023.

The Ministry for Housing, 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 www.gov.uk/european-growth-funding.

The European Investment Bank is providing £122,500,000 to support the Midlands Engine Investment Fund. For further information visit www.eib.org

The funds in which Midlands Engine Investment Fund invests are open to businesses with material operations in or planning to open material operations in the West Midlands and East & South-East Midlands.