Category: Deals

March 2012 = Sonis Europe has developed a new home alarm system which houses a single sensor in the control keypad.

Sonis Europe, led by Bill Marr, has now completed its equity fundraising by securing equity from Discovery Investment Fund. Sonis was introduced to Discovery Investment Fund and to two other angel syndicates by DC Consulting, although the two other syndicates who expressed interest in investment withdrew once it was clear Discovery Investment Fund had quickly reached Heads of Terms with Sonis.

The alarm system, which has been in development for some time uses sound recognition to determine whether a door or window has been opened. The business was started by Bill Marr after leaving Marconi. He had plenty of experience of the systems currently in use, which use an array of contact sensors and infra-red beams, but felt that the increasing sophistication of such systems led to unnecessary complexity, the end result of which was that systems are not appropriately utilised, or are occasionally not used at all. He felt that sound recognition was the answer to simplifying an alarm system, as it enabled a single sensor to replace the range of different sensor types in conventional systems; doors and windows make much the same noise when being opened, so he began by capturing the sound signature common to them all.

Sonis Europe now has a production model of the alarm system ready and will next be completing the tooling for the device, ready for a market launch in June 2012. The company plans to market directly to DIY chains in the UK, to electrical retailers and installers and to traditional installation forms. The system will be available for purchase online with video footage of its capability already commissioned.

Further information is available at http://soniseurope.com

DC Consulting recently completed the refinancing of a Small Trading Group, which involved the identification of the most appropriate funding mix, marrying this with the available funders in the market and project managing the entire process through to drawdown.

March 2012

DC Consulting acted as the Corporate Finance adviser to a Specialist Coatings business which was recently sold to a Coventry based PLC.

March 2012

DC Consulting, performing the role of deal initiator and corporate finance adviser to a  Leisure Group, announced the completion of the acquisition of 8 leisure outlets in a transaction backed by London-based VC.

February 2012

DC Consulting secured debt facilities of £540,000 to enable its client in the oil and gas services sector to acquire new commercial premises, in order to position itself for future growth. Based on this springboard, DC Consulting then secured an invoice finance line of £400,000 to provide sufficient working capital for the business as it grows over the next 2-3 years.

January 2012

Quarter 4, 2011. Objective Associates Ltd is a software development and digital agency based in Stirling with a management team that have over 40 years experience with a strong track record in delivering complex software solutions. The company recently secured £250k of external equity investment in September 2011, which was augmented with additional RSA Grant Funding of £200k to enable the company to support its development in  ‘Seller Dynamics’ software and increase future growth of the company

As part of this funding round Objective Associates Limited, have strengthened their board ahead of their next phase of growth. Steven Morris joins the board as Executive Chairman having been lead investor in the company’s recent growth funding round in excess of £450,000.

Steven joins the board as the company accelerates the development of its web based technology to exploit the growing successes of online marketplaces – Seller Dynamics. “Online marketplaces account for a significant proportion of the £500 Billion e-retail global market”, explained Steven, “but retailers still don’t have the applications and services in place to maximise their return from marketplaces such as Amazon and eBay. It was the opportunity to fill that gap and to help online retailers maximise profits that excited me about the chance to work with Objective.”

Online retail sales growth in the UK is currently reported as growing at around 20% per annum, providing a valuable sales channel for retailers in an otherwise recessionary economy. With consumers hungry for best value and retailers increasingly using multiple online channels, the need for applications which can efficiently manage online stock levels, margins and logistics from a single contact point is at an all time high.

The company will be releasing a new application as well as a range of new services through 2012 which will assist retailers maximise the return from their online sales. Alex Ogilvie, CEO of Objective Associates, said “We’re delighted to get Steven on board – his international expansion experience and unrivalled drive will make a significant difference to the roll out of Seller Dynamics as we take the business forward in 2012.”

About Objective Associates Ltd
Objective Associates Limited are a leading software and web development agency based in Stirling, Scotland. The company works with a range of clients requiring ecommerce solutions as well as multinational organisations requiring internal business systems to assist in the streamlining of sales and business information flow. Formed in 2002 the company has significant expertise in the design and development of robust and scalable software systems utilising the Microsoft Platform and related technologies.

DC Consulting

DC Consulting were delighted to assist in this funding round and support the company in securing additional funding resource through the RSA Grant initiative to enable the company to fast track its growth plans in rolling out the Seller Dynamic platform.

Edinburgh, UK 24 January 2012: Mobile Acuity, a leading technology company enabling interactive brand marketing campaigns using its Visual Interactivity™ platform, today announces that it has secured a significant equity investment to expand the company’s operations into the U.S. and East Asian markets.

The investment comes from bieMEDIA, a U.S.-based online marketing and media solutions company, and Scottish-based business angel network fronted by Steven Morris and the University of Edinburgh. This transaction quickly follows Mobile Acuity’s announcement that leading global retailer Tesco PLC is deploying its technologies, which includes a trial of mobile visual search, the company’s revolutionary image-based search application that enables “point and shoot” mobile commerce (m-commerce).

The use of “Point and Shoot” is the latest in mobile marketing and m-commerce. Unlike QR Codes or other image-capture search technologies that have limitations for real engagement, point and shoot m-commerce gives consumers convenience and flexibility. With Mobile Acuity, consumers can point a Smartphone at a product or image of a product in an advertisement, shoot a picture and receive all the information, and even make purchases, anytime and anywhere.

Chris Wade, Executive Chairman at Mobile Acuity comments: “This round is particularly exciting for our company and our shareholders as it allows our company to expand into the U.S. market with a key strategic sales distribution partner whilst simultaneously diversifying our award-winning mobile visual search technologies into other vertical markets.” Wade continues: “Importantly, the inward investment into the Scottish economy will also allow us to continue to grow and invest in local skills and resources.”

Jon Barocas, CEO at bieMEDIA commented: “Our strategic investment in Mobile Acuity demonstrates our commitment to revolutionizing the way our clients and consumers interact by offering compelling web, video and mobile commerce experiences and opportunities.”

About bieMEDIA
For the past 20 years, bieMEDIA has revolutionized its client’s brands online. Headquartered in Denver, Colorado, with offices in New York and Paris, the online marketing and media solutions company is a single-source partner for the delivery of every online marketing solution necessary for businesses to be successful in today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape. With its full suite of turn-key solutions for video, web and mobile production, distribution, hosting/CDN, video platform technology, metrics and performance analytics, website creation, mobile websites, social forum profile fulfillments and account management system solutions, bieMEDIA is continuously innovating and driving real engagement opportunities and maximum impact for its clients. For more information, visit www.biemedia.com.

About Steven Morris
Steven Morris is a successful technology innovator, strategist and business leader having driven innovative ideas from inception to commercialisation on multiple occasions. As a founder of profitable high-growth technology development and manufacturing businesses he has delivered technology, raised funds, grown businesses and achieved successful exits for investors. As an experienced executive he has operated as CEO, CMO & COO, in both early stage and medium sized companies. In these roles he has managed the transition, divesting and restructuring following acquisition. His internationally proven leadership and innovation spans cutting-edge research, development and commercialisation. These leadership qualities are combined with his capabilities to protect, generate and manage IP to maximise retained value within the business.

About Mobile Acuity
Mobile Acuity is a technology company enabling Mobile Visual Search applications for retailers and interactive campaigns using Visual Interactivity™ for brands and agencies. Working with leading digital agencies across Europe and North America, Mobile Acuity has used its mobile visual search technology to create engaging and award winning mobile applications for brands including Disney, Nike, Adidas, Pepsi, Lynx and Vodafone. The company also licenses its mobile visual search platform to customers such as leading mobile price comparison company Scope and leading digital media delivery company 7Digital, enabling them to add visual search capabilities to their own products.

For more information visit www.mobileacuity.com

02 February 2011 – ORIGIN and FISHERS SERVICES ANNOUNCE STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP
Fishers Services and Origin Cleanroom Services have formed a long-term partnership with effect from 2 February. Fishers has taken an equity stake in Origin, solidifying the partnership and demonstrating its commitment to developing Origin’s garment business and giving the company access to institutional funding to accelerate growth in its core markets of life sciences and microelectronics.

The new venture will focus on providing an integrated garment solution to customers primarily in pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and adjacent sectors where manufacturing plants will often require high end, and often sterile cleanroom garments as well as lab coats and other general workwear.

By coming together Origin and Fishers can now provide a single cost-effective source for all of these requirements with multiple site capability providing flexibility, security of supply and a fully transparent disaster recovery contingency – vital for volume manufacturers and healthcare providers alike.

Michael Jones, director of Fishers Services and responsible for its garment business welcomed the announcement.

“Origin is a natural fit and this partnership will enable both companies to accelerate growth with the aim of becoming the supplier of choice to the life sciences and microelectronics sectors,” he said.

Cleanroom laundry services will be provided from existing facilities in Livingston and Aberfeldy. These facilities have more than 40 years’ combined experience and have been audited and approved by many of the UK’s top pharmaceutical and microelectronics companies. Established and fully certified quality systems ensure a reliable, repeatable and fully traceable service, which meets and exceeds the requirements of all regulatory bodies.

Other garments, including laboratory coats and general workwear, will be processed through Fishers High-Clean garment facilities in Cupar and Newcastle. These plants are all fully Risk, Analysis, Biocontamination Control (RABC)-compliant and certified, which offers customers the unique opportunity to guarantee contamination-free processing of workwear through a programme of structured risk analysis, introduction of control measures, validation and monitoring, including the extensive use of swab testing. This system is implemented from the customer facility through the processing site and back to the point of use and therefore offers the most comprehensive and effective solution to customers with process-critical workwear applications as seen in the life sciences sector in particular.

The new venture will offer these products and services through innovative contractual structures tailored to the individual customer’s requirements. Significant savings over traditional Full Rental contracts can be achieved with the added benefit of increased flexibility and transparency, for example, all costs including termination costs are detailed on an open book basis with controversial residual values being eliminated completely.

Kenny Gall, chief executive of Origin, said: “We are excited by the opportunities presented by the Fishers’ investment and the coming together of the two companies. We have long believed that the UK market, and particularly the high technology sector, is lacking a consolidated, reliable and customer-focused supplier who can provide the service levels demanded by high volume and life-critical applications. When seeking a partner to address this gap in the market, Origin recognised that company culture was equally as important as capability and in Fishers we have found an organisation whose success is based on a reputation for delighting their customers with high quality products backed by responsive customer service.”

As well as an extended product offering, the tie up with Fishers brings ORIGIN a new financial strength and a source of funding to accelerate their growth plans.

www.origin-cleanroom.com

DC Consulting recently secured a property development facility of £1.8m for an existing client.

September 2011

August 2011 saw the successful conclusion of the deal to acquire a Prime Retail Unit

DC Consulting successfully assisted the management team of a new company looking to break into the Retail Sector, who bring a significant pedigree and heritage within the Retail Sector. This transaction brought together a six-figure funding package of both management equity and bank finance, required to acquire the business and to provide sufficient working capital for the company going forward.

Not only did the transaction involve significant negotiation and project management with the vendor, but also considerable structuring advice in terms of tax and other implications involved with the transaction, which is expected to be the first of many for the newly formed team.