A company which aims to be the ‘Tripadvisor of higher education’ has raised over £2.5m through the MEIF Proof of Concept & Early Stage Fund, which is managed by Mercia Ventures and part of the Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF), Mercia’s EIS funds and existing private investors.

StudentCrowd’s platform provides in-depth information on universities, courses and accommodation and produces its own league tables based on reviews from existing students. The funding will enable the Wolverhampton-based company to enhance its platform and expand it to cover other student services.

StudentCrowd employs a dedicated team of researchers and publishes only reviews from verified students. It claims to have the most comprehensive and accurate data platform of its kind. Over 1.7 million students used the site in 2022, of which around 30% were international students.

In addition to the platform for students, the company provides data and insights to organisations operating within the higher education sector including PwC, Knight Frank, CBRE and JLL, as well as education providers.

StudentCrowd was founded in 2014 by former graduates Paul Humphreys and Peter Sisson with a mission to alleviate the challenges faced by prospective students comparing their higher education options. It has raised over £600,000 from private investors to support its growth to date. The company, which employs over 35 staff, plans to create 15 new jobs as a result of the latest funding round.

As part of the deal, StudentCrowd has appointed Glenn Jones as Chair. Glenn, who co-founded and sold the recruitment platform Madgex, was also on the board of edtech company Firefly.

Paul Humphreys, CEO of StudentCrowd, said: “Choosing a university is one of the biggest decisions that a young person can make. Our mission is to offer them the best quality information so they can make the best choices. Our reviews also provide valuable feedback to universities and accommodation providers, enabling them to further improve their services. This funding round will enable us to enhance the platform and pursue our goal to become the Tripadvisor of higher education.”

According to a UCAS survey, 77% of students see peer reviews as an important part of their higher education decision-making framework.

Rafael Joseph of Mercia added: “Having grown up in a digital world, today’s students are more likely to make decisions based on reviews rather than marketing material. StudentCrowd is the only platform of its type that offers reviews from verified students and covers universities, courses and accommodation. The company has huge potential for growth. This investment will enable it to establish its position as the leader in the UK market and prepare it for international expansion.”

Keira Shepperson, Director, Regional Funds at British Business Bank, said: “The Midlands Engine Investment Fund supports innovative SMEs across the Midlands and this investment from the MEIF will allow StudentCrowd to  expand the business in the UK and overseas. This is a great example that shows how the MEIF backs business growth and the wider local economy through job creation in the region.”      

PwC provided fundraising advice to StudentCrowd.

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.