A UK company whose events software platform was used to help plan the Special Olympics in Berlin, has raised £1.5m to enable it to bring its technology to a wider audience and create new jobs.

Iventis has secured investment from the MEIF Proof of Concept & Early Stage Fund, which is managed by Mercia Ventures and part of the Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF), and Mercia’s EIS funds.

Iventis enables teams planning events to collaborate online by bringing together satellite imagery, maps, architectural drawings and other data in one easy to use platform. It can handle even the largest and most complex events and clients can also receive hands-on support from the  company’s 15-strong team.

The company has worked on a host of high-profile events including the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games, the World Cup and Dubai Expo. The latest funding will enable it to further enhance its technology and bring it to a wide range of event planners.

Iventis, which is based in Lincoln, was founded by Joe Cusdin who had previously worked on the London 2012 Summer Olympics. Mercia first invested in the business in 2019. The latest funding brings the total it has raised to date to over £2.1m and will enable the company to create around six new jobs.

Joe Cusdin, CEO, said: “Planning high-profile events is extremely complex with a host of different factors to consider – from designing and building the infrastructure and planning schedules to managing crowd control, transport and security. However the industry still relies heavily on spreadsheets, drawings and data in different formats. With Iventis we have already shown how technology can transform large-scale event planning. We will now be bringing our innovations and technology to a wider audience.”

Sandy Reid, Investment Director at Mercia, added: “Joe and the team have built a first-rate product and attracted a gold-standard client base. We believe there is huge potential to grow the business, not only in the field of sport and entertainment but also in areas such as tourism, transport and construction – anywhere teams need to work together to plan and manage complex operations. The funding will enable the company to strengthen its management team with a number of key appointments and accelerate sales growth.”

Mark Wilcockson, Senior Investment Manager at British Business Bank, said: “The MEIF aims to support the advancement of regional SMEs that are innovative and have vast growth potential. MEIF Proof-of-Concept & Early Stage Fund provides ambitious businesses in the Midlands with financial investment to enable expansion and growth. This funding for Iventis will help the company with the creation of six new jobs in the Midlands region while introducing its technology to a wide range of new audiences.” 

Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) Chief Executive Ruth Carver said: “I am delighted that Lincoln company Inventis has secured further investment through the Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF). The Greater Lincolnshire LEP, along with the European Union, co-funded the MEIF to help fuel local businesses’ growth ambitions and it is good to see investment into a digital events platform and investment in talent locally.”

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

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

www.mercia.co.uk

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.