Centuro Global secures £3.3m investment from Mercia
Centuro Global – an AI-powered platform that helps companies to expand overseas – has raised £3.3m from Mercia to support its rapid growth.
Centuro offers businesses a quick way to comply with local regulations in areas ranging from setting up a new company to immigration, HR, legal, tax and accounting issues. The platform covers over 150 different countries and provides a cost-effective alternative to using larger consultancy firms. Clients range from small businesses who need one-off advice to large corporates who use it on an ongoing basis to support their operations overseas.
Centuro was set up by Asma Bashir, who had previously founded and exited immigration service provider Newland Chase, and Zain Ali, a lawyer who has advised multinationals including Apple, Nokia and Universal Music. They launched the platform in early 2022. Since then monthly revenues have grown ten-fold.
The funding will enable the London-based company to further develop its platform. It also expects to more than double the size of its 16-strong team by the end of the year including a number of key management appointments.
Zain Ali says: “Global expansion is complex, with confusing local laws, complicated taxes and hefty fines for those who fail to play by the rules. Centuro cuts through the complexity, eradicating the need for expensive consultancy services. We’re disrupting the dominance of the larger players in the market, giving ambitious businesses a simple solution that saves them time and money, reduces compliance risks and helps them win in new markets and in the war for global talent.
“The funding will enable us to further develop our technology and accelerate our growth as we seek to establish ourselves as a leader in the global expansion space. We believe Centuro has the potential to transform the way companies approach international markets, unlocking new opportunities and growth potential.”
Mercia was investing from its Northern Venture Capital Trusts (VCTs). Adam Watts, Investment Manager at Mercia, added: “With the trend to ‘working from anywhere,’ more companies are finding themselves managing distributed teams and having to navigate complex legislation. Centuro’s ‘expansion as a service’ model helps businesses operating overseas to make informed decisions quickly. The company has grown revenues rapidly since launching its platform last year and we believe it has huge potential to establish itself as a category leader in this space.”
ENDS
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Mercia Asset Management PLC
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ABOUT CENTURO GLOBAL
Founded in 2020, Centuro Global is an AI powered SaaS platform that ensures a company’s global expansion needs are serviced compliantly in one place. With Centuro Global’s platform, Centuro Connect, every step on the global expansion journey, from tax, legal, and immigration, to payroll and HR, are found in one system, allowing them to trade in any jurisdiction with easy and efficiency. For more information, please visit centuroglobal.com.
About Mercia Asset Management PLC
Mercia is a proactive venture capital investor that aims to be a start-up’s first-choice partner for growth. Mercia currently has c. £1.4 billion of assets under management and has invested in a portfolio of over 400 start-ups from pre-seed to Series B and beyond. Mercia has nine offices in the UK and over 60 investment professionals, all drawing on their experiences as founders, PhD scientists, software engineers, corporate financiers and management consultants to help our partner companies successfully achieve their ambitions.
Mercia’s venture funds sit alongside the Mercia Group’s wider private equity, debt and proprietary balance sheet capital, in order to provide a ‘Complete Connected Capital’ solution for our portfolio. Mercia Asset Management PLC is quoted on AIM with the epic “MERC”.
Mercia Asset Management PLC is quoted on AIM with the epic “MERC” and includes the following wholly owned subsidiaries –
- Mercia Fund Management Limited is authorised and regulated by the FCA under firm reference number 524856
- Enterprise Ventures Limited is authorised and regulated by the FCA under firm reference number 183363
- EV Business Loans Limited is authorised and regulated by the FCA under firm reference number 443560
