Stormburst Studios (t/a OneUp Sales) secures £2.25 million investment from Mercia
OneUp Sales – whose platform helps businesses to manage and motivate sales teams – has raised £2.25m from the MEIF Proof of Concept & Early Stage Fund, which is managed by Mercia and part of the Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF), and Mercia’s EIS funds.
The Staffordshire-based team will use the funding to further enhance its award-winning platform that drives productivity in sales teams worldwide. It follows a successful 2022 during which the business more than doubled staff numbers and increased annual revenue by over 115%.
OneUp Sales enhances reporting, improves the accountability of salespeople, fosters friendly competition with sales teams and helps celebrate success. It also integrates with almost 30 different types of customer relationship management (CRM) systems.
The platform is used by over 250 companies in the UK, including prominent names in the recruitment industry such as Recruitment Entrepreneur, Xcede, Investigo, and Premier Group.
The investment will enable the company to enhance its existing product and launch a new commission management solution later this year which will simplify the process of calculating and managing sales commission and help to further motivate salespeople.
OneUp Sales was founded in 2016 by two former games developers, Derry Holt and James Heath. The latest investment follows two earlier funding rounds from Mercia and MEIF totalling £750,000. It currently employs 36 staff and plans to create a number of new jobs in the year ahead.
Derry Holt, CEO of OneUp Sales, said: “We are excited about this new chapter at OneUp Sales. Our growth and this successful fundraising round validate the impact we’re having on hundreds of sales teams around the world. With the support of our investors, we are well prepared to pursue our vision and deliver even greater functionality to our clients; our upcoming commission management tool is set to be a gamechanger for finance and sales teams everywhere.”
David Baker, Investment Manager at Mercia, said: “Although many sales teams still rely on spreadsheets and whiteboards, there is a growing market for sales performance platforms. OneUp Sales has been a pioneer in the field, and differentiates itself through its easy to use system that engages staff effectively and integrates with existing sales systems. The company has grown rapidly in recent years. The latest funding will enable Derry and James and the team to take it to the next level.”
Keira Shepperson, Director of Regional Funds at the British Business Bank, said: “The MEIF supports the expansion and development of Midlands based SMEs that are innovative and have growth potential. This proof-of-concept funding for OneUp Sales will not only help the platform to enhance its existing product but also to launch a new solution as part of its business growth which will bring a positive impact for the wider region through the creation of new job roles.”
Alun Rogers, Chair of the Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), said: “We are pleased to see OneUp Sales, a local company delivering value to businesses worldwide, secure funding through the MEIF to further enhance the platform and create new employment opportunities in our region.
OneUp Sales exemplifies the entrepreneurial spirit and technological expertise that we strive to foster in Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire, and we look forward to witnessing their continued success and growth.”
The Midlands Engine Investment Fund 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.
ENDS
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About OneUp Sales
OneUp Sales is a Sales Performance Management Platform specifically designed to help manage and motivate salespeople. It helps enhance reporting, improve salesperson accountability, create friendly competition, and celebrate wins, thereby transforming the way sales teams and recruitment agencies function. The platform is trusted by over 250 companies across the UK.
For more information, visit www.oneupsales.co.uk
About Mercia Asset Management PLC
Mercia is a proactive, specialist asset manager focused on supporting regional SMEs to achieve their growth aspirations. Mercia provides capital across its four asset classes of balance sheet, venture, private equity and debt capital: the Group’s ‘Complete Connected Capital’. The Group initially nurtures businesses via its third-party funds under management, then over time Mercia can provide further funding to the most promising companies, by deploying direct investment follow-on capital from its own balance sheet.
The Group has a strong UK footprint through its regional offices, 19 university partnerships and extensive personal networks, providing it with access to high-quality deal flow. Mercia currently has c.£1.4 billion of assets under management and, since its IPO in December 2014, has invested c.£111million gross into its direct investment portfolio.
The Group raises its own Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) Funds and manages Venture Capital Trusts (VCTs) details about open offers can be found through Mercia’s website.
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
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 Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities 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. This follows backing for the Northern Powerhouse in 2017 and backing for the newly launched North East 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.
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 https://thebusinessfinanceguide.co.uk
About the British Business Bank
The British Business Bank is the UK government’s 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. Its remit is to design, deliver and efficiently manage UK-wide smaller business access to finance programmes for the UK government.
The British Business Bank’s core programmes support nearly £8bn[1] of finance to almost 94,800 smaller businesses[2]. Since March 2020, the British Business Bank has also launched four new Coronavirus business loan schemes, delivering almost £73bn of finance to around 1.6m businesses.
As well as increasing both supply and diversity of finance for UK smaller businesses through its programmes, the Bank works to raise awareness of the finance options available to smaller businesses. The British Business Bank Finance Hub provides independent and impartial information to businesses about their finance options, featuring short films, expert guides, checklists and articles from finance providers to help make their application a success.
In light of the coronavirus pandemic and EU Exit, the Finance Hub has expanded and it now targets a wider business audience. It continues to provide information and support for scale-up, high growth and potential high growth businesses, but now provides increased content, information and products for businesses in survival and recovery mindsets. The Finance Hub has been redesigned and repositioned to reflect this, during this period of economic uncertainty.
British Business Bank plc is a public limited company registered in England and Wales, registration number 08616013, registered office at Steel City House, West Street, Sheffield, S1 2GQ. It is a development bank wholly owned by HM Government. British Business Bank plc and its subsidiaries are not banking institutions and do not operate as such. They are not authorised or regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) or the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). A complete legal structure chart for the group can be found at www.british-business-bank.co.uk.
